When Time Itself Has Lost It's Way
by AncientCountry
Summary: What happens when history has been erased to delay time? What happens when time itself has lost it's way? What happens when a young woman is drawn into a world that was meant to be snipped from the timeline of history? Can she overcome her metaphorical scars to unite those who've been torn apart through war and greed? M for language, adult themes and violence. OCxGanondorf
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

Chel sat quietly at her desk, eyes fixed on the bruises that were nestled on her caramel-colored knuckles in squeezing closeness. It had been the third time that week she had gotten into a fight with the popular girl in school. Of course, they never fought on school grounds, unfortunately. The fights always began the same way; Jess would mock her looks, shove her, and then tear her art up – it was the tearing of her pieces that would get Chel to even bother fighting, of course, everyone else thought all the things in between.

"Ugh," staring at the scabs that were lined on the jutting bones, Chel frowned to herself, "why?"

As always, the fights were fought in the park right outside her neighborhood in the forest – in the middle of the jungle gym so no one would notice what was going on. Chel would, of course, laugh and wait as Jess' 'posse' would find places to sit around them so that no parents would send their children their way. Though, Jess was obviously not at all intimidating, Chel was afraid at times. Afraid that she'd put her in the hospital and have her parents get sued. Even though Jess was an evil witch, Chel was kind enough to leave all marks in concealable areas, never on the face. Though, she was good at hiding anything that was given to her, she always seemed to get caught by her parents.

"How many times has it been huh," those were always the last words to leave their mouths before the yelling began, "it's your final year, you are a fully-grown 18 years-young adult, when are you gonna start acting like it?"

"I do act like it, I only retaliate when she swings at me," Chel would never yell, she was always calm, "I protect myself since no one else will," yelling never seemed to change anything, so she quit after her first year being in that high school, never let her emotions show. She couldn't recall the last time she let herself cry.

"It doesn't seem to be that way," her dad was more on edge rather than her mother; he was a man of business and success, so it was only natural that he'd always expect the best from her, "you seem to come home everyday with," at this time he'd yank her sleeves up to prove his point, exposing all the scratches she'd adorn in her battles, "with a new scar or injury to sport."

"Trust me, she had the worst of it," Chel would only roll her eyes at his obliviousness on the matter while readjusting her sleeves – she protected herself, nothing more, "I don't get why you're so worked up about this, you _should _be glad that I'm not dead."

"That's not the point, Chel," he would rake his hands through his hair while she stared at her mom who would stand and watch her, blonde hair swaying against her back, and blue eyes so big and full of sadness, it could've made God cry, "the _point _is, you have a potential future because of _us, _and you seem to just want to throw it away because of some...some piece of paper being ripped up," he would always hit the mark on what actually upset her about the matter and that's when her mother would leave the room as if she were never there in the first place, "something so small and pointless to-"

"It's not something small," that moment was probably the first time Chel let herself express what she felt about his words. Of course she'd probably never know why, although it was probably so obvious that it didn't need explaining – it was her final year of school and graduation was right around the corner, her parents refused to accept her decision in attending an art school and instead pushed her with a university for higher-ups that wanted nothing more than a larger shot at making a million bucks. She hated it, "it's my life."

"You're being ridiculous," he'd turn her down immediately and that was when she'd stop trying to fight and just listen – this time was different.

"No I'm not," Chel stood from the table and gave him the worst glare she could muster, "how could you say something so cold?"

"It's because you have bigger shoes to fit," his smoldering blue eyes contrasted from her blazing brown ones – the only things they had similar were the few little specks of gold that decorated their rims, his hair was a light brown as if the sun was always shining on his head and hers was a walnut so dark it was almost black, "and I don't have all the time in the world to make you understand-"

"And I don't have the time to make _you _understand," she finally yelled at him for the first time in years, "those 'pieces of paper'... my art...is who I am, it's me, the 100% definition of _me_," she could feel the burning in her nose that she hadn't felt in ages, but letting her tears roll in front of him was not going to happen, _"_if you can't accept that...then you can't accept me," turning her back, Chel walked away, not fast enough to seem like she was running away, but not slow enough to seem like she was waiting for an answer, "I wish we never came here."

"Chel...Chel," he called for her, but there was no point in continuing the conversation. Making it to her room, she silently let it click, before sitting at her desk, bringing everything back to the point that she was at the moment.

For some reason, she couldn't get anyone to understand, her parents most of all. It was as if they didn't even know there was a 'her' that existed, just a target to take all the punches of their stress. Their relationship with each other was so misconstrued, she never even called them by intimacy. It hurt to even call them her parents.

"Seriously," her nose scrunched up as she kicked the chair from under her and dropped on her freakishly too-large-for-comfort bean bag that had it's own corner where she was able to curl up into a ball and feel so tiny to the world that it was almost 'sweet' to her tastes, "I've never done anything wrong," holding herself, Chel felt for the first time in a long time that a good cry was necessary. However, she was never able to fulfill that desire since the sound of knocking caught her attention.

"Chel," the sweet resonating voice that reached her ears told that it was her mother, "Chel are you in here? Well, of course you are-"

"Aldez," she muttered under her breath, low enough so that it was hopefully not heard, but for some reason, mother heard everything.

"Listen I...," the pause was good enough to let her relax a little, "...I understand that you're stressed, but we're trying...we're trying really hard to do what's good for you. I mean, you...you're not like most people-"

"Gee thanks, next thing you know, you'll tell me I'm adopted, granted that'd be a wish come true," Chel turned in her bean bag to try and shut her out.

"I know you don't mean that," she could hear the sadness in her voice, "I love you Chel...we love you. You'll understand what I mean when the time comes, but I want you to know that...you're important to us, you're my baby," the words were genuine, but a little too late to be spoken.

"Hmm," Chel narrowed her eyes and stared at the drawings that hung on her wall, _if they don't accept my art, they don't accept me, _"goodnight."

"I-i...goodnight Chel, I love you," she listened to her footsteps fade into the background noise before curling further into herself.

"...Aldez," it was true, Chel was envious of her parents, but her mother even more, "what does she know," unlike her, her mother was loved and adored by everyone even though they shared the same personality – quiet, kind and respectful, yet it seemed like everyone in the world saw her as some kind of demon spawn. Why?

"Ugggh," getting up from the bean bag, she snatched her sketchbook up from her desk and rested quietly in the corner of her bed, head against the wall, "whatever," letting her pencil take over, she felt her frustrations melt almost instantaneously at the touch of the paper. Most of the time she didn't draw anything in particular, but for some reason, she couldn't stop drawing landscapes – large fields, weird creatures hanging around them, the weirdest part was the large castle that ended up in most of them. Usually she'd draw a little triangle in the corner of the page, but that time, three seemed like a good numberb – Two on the base and one stacked on top. They looked so familiar it was strange.

"Hmm," staring at the page, she couldn't pull her eyes away from the weird shape. Gently running her fingers over the little scribble, Chel found herself growing extremely tired, "...I hate Hylow...why do I have to be here," her head lightly bobbed on, "I want to be anywhere else but here," those were the last words to run through her mind before sleep overcame her.

_"Alright sweetie," her mother laughed while she tugged on her hand to catch up to the ice cream stand that hummed a soft tune over the crowds of people that giddily made their requests._

_ "Mommy mommy, huwwie huwwie," jumping up and down, Chel squeeked as the line seemed to just fly down, "I want chocowet! Chocowet!"_

_ "Alright, alright," she smiled at the stand person, "Hi I would-"_

_ "Noooo," Chel tugged on her legs so she could be picked up, "wet me ode-uh wet me ode-uh!"_

_ "Okay babe," wrapping her arms around her, she set her on her hip and turned so she could see, "go ahead."_

_ "I want chocowet pweee-" her request was cut short when a beautiful woman with long strawberry blonde hair looked back at her, her eyes a brilliant gold, "...woooow," she looked almost exactly like her mother just with a different color palette._

_ "Oh my what an adorable little child you've got there," her smile was so bright, Chel could've sworn she was looking at the sun, "she's so grown, giving requests and all."_

_ "Thanks," her mother laughed lightly, "we don't know where she gets it from."_

_ "So...you wanted chocolate huh," the woman waited for an answer, but she simply nodded, mouth still agape, "...alright let me-oh no. I think I just ran out."_

_ Finally snapping out of her distraction, Chel frowned, "mommy," her lip turned out into a pout and tears began to form, "...mommy I-I-I wanted chocowet."_

_ "I know," before her mom could say anything, the lady smiled at her, "how about," looking around, she leaned over the counter as if trying to be secretive, "I give you a 'special' ice cream...for free?"_

_ Chel couldn't speak, so she nodded with a sniffling 'okay' in between. Watching the lady lean into the storage, she held onto her mom's hand while she wiped the tears away from her chunky little cheeks, "...uh-huh, here we are," the woman pulled out an ice cream cone that had a big scoop of ice cream that swirled into three different colors – red, green and blue – with gold sprinkles on top, "it's very special, for very special children like you," handing it to her, the lady smiled, "I think you'll love it," it was the first time she noticed the three gold triangle earring that she wore, it looked fairly solid at that._

_ "What do you say sweetie," her mother bumped her up with her hip._

_ "Thank you," looking at the ice cream, Chel took a big lick and instantly felt as though she were in a field of flowers, butterflies filling her tummy with excitement, "...mmm."_

_ "I knew it," giving her a wink, the lady laughed, "would mommy like anything?"_

_ "Oh no, I'm okay, thank you very much," setting Chel on the ground, she took her by the hand, "c'mon Chel, daddy's probably back home."_

_ Licking her treat once again, the question reappeared in her mind as she stumbled to follow her moms wide steps, "m-m-mmmommy, is dat wady yowh sistuwh?"_

_ "What," her mom looked at her in surprise, "don't be silly sweetie, she looks nothing like me."_

_ "uh-huh, yes she do-," looking back, Chel stopped talking as her eyes stared back at a woman with dark skin and a short brown bob cut smiling back at her while waving, "-oes?"_

* * *

So this is a sudden story to pop up out of all the other ones I'm working on. I have no idea when I'll update again, but I'll try as soon as possible. That is, if people actually enjoy the read. This is my first Zelda story to be submitted. Hopefully it's none too terrible. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the read.


	2. What's Happening?

What's Happening?

Chel groaned as the dream, or whatever that vision was, faded into a mellow light that sucked her out of her slumber. Her eyes slowly opened, her sight filling with blurred splotches of color as the days first lights streamed through her blinds. Trying to wake herself up, she found herself falling back out, which was always a pleasurable deal, however, the dream left her feeling uneasy. Had that really happened? Or was that just some kind of imaginative deal going on? Wait, what was she talking about? Had what happened? She hadn't even dreamed last night. Her mind went blank.

"Hmm," everything was still clearing up, but she found herself staring at the ceiling, "...huh," her parents tucked her in after falling out the night before. Kindness, it was their usual way of reacting after a fight. It irked her nerves. There was never an apology, the words that scarred her to the bone were practically erased from their memory, as if nothing ever happened. It made her laugh at times, wondering why they thought their words couldn't bother her.

Shoving the blankets off of her, Chel felt herself being suffocated by ill feelings. She usually never felt that way for long, but it was something about her mental wiring that day that she couldn't just be her usual okay self. She needed to get out.

"Geez," getting up from the bed, she made her way over to the book shelf on the opposite wall. Rubbing her finger against the button that sat on the side, she sighed before pressing it. The bookshelf slid to the side, revealing a decent sized shower room with a blue hue to it. Her father thought the idea cool to have a hidden room in the house, so they ended up hiding a good amount of them.

Stepping onto the cold tile floor, Chel went over to the walk in shower and turned it on, watching the water sputter out and patter against the glass. She enjoyed the sound of it, like rain spraying against her window. Stripping out of her clothes, she stared at herself in the mirror. Much like her mother, her hair was long, ending just past her rear with neon blue streaks at the tips, curling naturally from the roots. She usually kept it in a loose bun, since fights were always things she dealt with. Her skin was a caramel compared to her pale-skinned parents. _I must be adopted, there's no other explanation. _

Making her way over to the shower, Chel stepped in, the steam flowing up into her nose. She loved to stay under the water much longer than it was healthy, but not even the water could make her feel at ease. Scrubbing herself down hard, she tried to wash away the ill feeling but it didn't seem to work. Squirting her mint-scented 2-in-1 shampoo In her hair, she took her nails and worked it into her scalp and through the rest of her hair which she had to throw in front of her to get. Washing herself up, she let the chilling sensation overwhelm her head.

"Okay," getting out of the shower as quickly as she could, Chel wrapped a towel around her hair and took another one around her waist, "I'll go for a walk...huh," as she turned to leave, she caught a glimpse of something on her neck in the mirror, "what the..."

Taking a hand mirror from her sink, she turned her back to the mirror and used her portable one to reflect it. Trying to find something, she ran her fingers over the nape of her neck, "great, I'm seeing things now," suddenly she froze at the sight of something that looked like wings curling up around her neck, something like an arrowhead in between them, leaving a half circle of empty space right below her hairline, "...how did you get th-"

The sound of footsteps caught her attention, her father was coming. Setting the mirror down, Chel rushed for her room while tossing her towel off. A second later, her dad opened her door, "Chel are you-"

"Tim I'm naked," she yelled shockingly, causing him to freakout. It always got him to go away.

"Oh gosh I'm uhh-uhh sorry," he shut her door and she waited for his footsteps to fade, but he hadn't left yet, "uhh...I'm headed out. Do you need anything from the store?"

"Uhh no, I don't think so," looking through her drawers, she searched for clothes to wear, "don't forget to buy some more chicken and Aldez's seeds for the garden," she felt best to just go along with the attitude of the atmosphere.

"Right, okay, uhh," his feet started moving, "I'll be back later. I'm making shrimp tacos for dinner tonight."

"Kay," Chel sighed while pulling out a black oversized sweater dress and a pair of neon blue leg warmers reached all the way up her thighs and hooking around the base of her feet. Her favorite outfit when going out. Finding some undergarments to wear, she went back to the bathroom to comb her hair out. It was always straight when it was wet, so she didn't have too much trouble when taming it. The only issue was that it extended farther down her back when it was wet, so she had to contort her body in weird angles to get it all combed out. Brushing her teeth was always the last thing she did since it took the least amount of time out of her daily routine.

After finishing the job, Chel went out to put on the undergarments and toss on her outfit, putting on a pair of short black combat boots. Stepping over to her desk, she found her sketchbook and pen resting neatly in the corner, they were nice enough to put her stuff away as well. Rolling her eyes, she stuffed the items in her satchel before tossing it over her shoulder and heading for the door. Snatching up her black beanie, she fit the thing snug over her ears and waited for the sound of life on the other side. When there was none, she sighed and left her precious cocoon behind.

The hallway was silent, save the ticking of the grandfather clock downstairs in the family room. Surprisingly, it was a nice sound to hear at the house. It let her know that time was still moving, that her life was going forward. Taking a quick trip into the kitchen, Chel found a batch of her mothers fresh picked apples. Taking up a couple, she bit into one and set the other one in her satchel, making sure it wasn't anywhere that it could get bruised. Heading for the door, she noticed a blue square on the floor – her wallet.

"Must've fallen out last night," she thought while snatching it up, making sure the twenty dollar bill and her card was still in there, "good."

Although her parents were rich, Chel didn't like the idea of them spending money on her. Even if they wanted to, it would've only given them more incentive to expect whatever they wanted from her. So, instead of relying on them for money, she took a job up as a tutor for children over at the school she went to. It paid well and more for her to save a good amount to spend on herself and save the rest for college. Over the summers, she'd commission for decent amounts of money and set up auctions at the school that the art department held for rising students. Simply put, she was fit to cover 2 years, books and all.

"Time for some fresh air," setting the wallet in the pocket of her sweater, Chel stepped outside, the cold winter air biting at her nose. The sky was surprisingly clear, no snow had been predicted for the past month, and the cold days were going on endlessly. The silence that was the early mornings was the first thing to catch her attention. So quiet that she could hear her own heart beat, so calming. The ill feelings she had were already beginning to wash away.

The second car that her mother usually took was still in the driveway, so it meant that both of her parents were gone. Chel smiled to herself, she could've taken it, but driving was never something she cared to do. In fact, she didn't know why she even bothered getting a license to do so. Staring at the car, she heaved a sigh before heading down the sidewalk, feet padding along in silence. Fortunately, her parents chose to live in a neighborhood separated from the city, an island connected by a bridge to be exact. There was the forest outside the neighborhood, where the exit gates opened to.

"Hmm," her eyes locked on the trees that hung over the stone gates, Chel couldn't help but wonder how something so full of life could bend so easily to man, "even you guys are being controlled," she sighed pressing the button clipped to her bag that opened the gate. Stepping outside, made her way down the dirt path, trees imposingly stretched over her.

The walk was silent, save for the scrunch of the fallen leaves that littered the ground and the munching of her apple. Her boots scraped along in a steady rhythm. Chel loved the smell of the clean air, it was crisp and sweet, unlike the city air that was muddled with pollution. Looking to the right, she spotted the park passed a few trees in an open space. _How many times have I been there anyway? _Her mood began to draw back into its sour state, so she turned away and continued her walk down the pathway, cold air being the only company beside her. The walk usually lasted around ten minutes, but that day was different.

"Weird," Chel looked up at the bare branches that flickered with sunlight, "someone's watching," looking around, she couldn't find anyone around, not a single soul around, "but..."

Her nerves were stringing out, but she slowed her pace as much as possible to see if she could catch a glimpse of someone. It didn't work, so she shrugged it off and made way for the other side of the forest, tossing the core of her apple out into the soil. As the dirt path cut onto solid ground, she found herself staring at the open waters that surrounded the island. There was a cement road that curved to the right, leading to the bridge to the city. Pausing for a moment, she looked over to a lone tree that stood out from the rest of the forest, it was the oldest and largest one there – kids and lovers had carved their names into the bark. Sitting at the base was an old bike, everyone on the island knew about the thing.

"So no one's riding you today," she smiled a little while heading over, "so you're blue today? Oh and you got new tires," somewhere along the way, it became tradition among the people - mainly the young adults, to take care of the bike, fixing it up in whatever way needed. Sometimes it would come back from the city in a different color or with a new seat or a basket. It made people wonder what adventure it had gone on with that person.

"Looks like you're stuck with me today," taking it from the tree, she led it up to the road before hopping on and riding out to the bridge, "I'll get you a new light," Chel tapped on the cracked object on the handle bar, "we'll make you look good."

Although it was fairly early, she could hear the bustling of the city from afar. Making her way down the road, the tires popped up onto the bridge, steering on the left side. Chel stared out over the side wall, the early morning sun flickering off the waters in beautiful shades – a sea of fire. She was already beginning to feel better about herself as the wind whipped through her hair, shooting it along in waves. Her face snuggled behind the neck of her sweater, she watched the city slowly approaching in front of her. It shined with the rays of the sun, like some golden city – it was definitely not golden.

The sound the city buses echoed through the wind. The city air already started filling up her nose, it was none too lovely. Halfway across the bridge, Chel looked across the waters again, only to catch a glimpse of the wings that she had on her neck in the suns rays. Her heart skipped a beat, it was as if golden silk was rolling across the water and sky in columns, curving around the sun. The moment was much shorter than she'd expected, in a blink, it was gone, the pale-red sky glimmering nonchalantly.

"What the f-" Chel felt herself jerk to the right, the bike getting caught between a crack, "oh crap," trying to stay up right, she swerved to the left catching a grip on the ledge, "oh my goodness!"

She'd made it to the other side of the bridge, getting caught at the connection of the cement. Spacing out was becoming a problem that day, "I'm not here right now I swear," pushing herself off, Chel kicked herself forward, riding down the sidewalk beside the water.

Surprisingly, there were no cars passing by at the moment, just a random stranger walking along every so often. Her first priority was to find somewhere to just relax and calm herself, which usually meant one of the flower fields around the city. Her eyes wandered around, spotting random things of interest – birds, stray cats, fish flopping out of the water – there really wasn't a still day in the place. Riding along, she heard the sound of a crowd in the distance. Coming to a stop, Chel laughed at the sight of people lining up by a stand, where someone was selling ice cream.

"Ice cream at this time of year," shaking her head, she kicked the bike forward and off the curb to get past the people murmuring about. As she rode by, she couldn't help but feel a pang of deja vu as the sound of a little kids request rang in her ear.

"Chocowet pwease!"

"Weird," her heart pounded in her ears as the wind whipped against her cheeks, "I've heard that somewhere," shrugging she popped up on the curb again, "well duh...kids get ice cream all the time, stop being so stupid," arguing with herself, Chel found herself, riding along one of the more isolated areas of the city with much fewer buildings – a mini market place to be more exact. People were selling all kinds of goods stuffed in barrels and large wooden crates. Chefs were usually the ones to do the shopping around those parts, Chel just came around the area to cut through and get to her favorite field on the outskirts of the province.

It was about a mile away, but the sight was beautiful. Cutting through crowds of people who were still somewhat asleep, she sped down the sidewalk, already anticipating the blooming winter flowers. The field was one of the few ones that hadn't been mauled by construction and was promised to be kept by the city. Few people would go by there, but Chel loved the place. Although the field was vast and beautiful, what really interested her was the hill that sat in the middle of it. On that hill was a humongous tree that stretched its limbs across the sky, not once had she seen it with bare leaves. What was really strange was the rumor that the tree was haunted, as if the voices of dead children could be heard. Of course, Chel didn't find that to be possible at all.

The moment her tires struck the grass, she was off and running through the flowers, cold, crisp air biting harshly at her cheeks. She could feel her nose starting to run, but there was no one to cover herself from. Her fingers flicked across the tips of the red and yellow petals as she barged for the small hill. Laughing out loud, Chel felt all the pent up emotions inside her leave, like a curse was being lifted. The fresh scent of nature drowned her lungs with such sweetness, she felt as if she were eating candy. Stopping at the edge of the hill, her knees buckled beneath her as her face plummeted into the grass, her breathing heavy.

"Ahh I missed you," a smile was plastered across her face as she turned on her back, "did you miss me?"

The tree hung over her as if ready to cradle her in it's branches. Sunlight never showed through the leaves, so it felt as if she were underneath a large umbrella. Standing up, Chel made her way to the other side of the tree, the sight of the city lake coming into view. The field stretched a few more yards, before cutting off to another sidewalk that was barred with a railing, so no one would fall in the water. Although her neighborhood was constructed on the island in the middle of the lake, it still looked as though the place was never touched, just a forest floating on water.

Staring out there, Chel found herself smiling more than she had in the past week. Pulling off her satchel, she found the apple she'd tucked away. Taking a bite out of it, she took out her sketchbook and pen. Flipping open to the page she had been left on the night before, she jumped at the sight of a little sticky note in the corner. Looking at it, she frowned. There were four weird squiggles written or drawn on the piece of paper. Though it seemed weird, she couldn't help but think it formed some sort of word.

"Huh," staring hard, Chel felt her head flutter a little, as if her brain were filtering something out, "..t..ti...," the squiggles began to look like letters, it was like reading a completely different language, but it still seemed like English, "...tim...tim...ti-time?" blinking hard, she felt her head begin to pound, "ai...aiya, not good," closing her eyes, Chel rubbed her temples, "crap, this hurts."

Resting her head against the tree, she felt her head begin to lighten up a bit, "...ooooh man," blinking a few times, she tried to push the pain to the back of her head, "well...that was weird," folding the note, she put it in the pocket of her sweater, "probably Aldez or...Tim, being stupid," her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out who wrote the letter, "...whatever," returning to her sketchbook, she spotted the three triangles that sat in the corner of the page.

"Hmm," running her fingers over the shape, Chel couldn't help but wonder why it looked so intriguing, "...," turning to the next page, she decided to just not think about things. Tapping her pen against the sheet, she looked out to the waters, listening to the sound of the seagulls squawking at the boats that sailed along. Her head slowly began to ache less as she thought.

Taking her pen, Chel ran it along the page, letting it decide on what would go where. After a few more lines, she realized that she was drawing a woman – long hair, slender body, big bright eyes – _Aldez? _The only difference she really noticed were the pointed ears on either side of the face.

"Hmmm," taking her pen to her lips, Chel scrunched up her nose, "...something," tapping the pen on her teeth, she smiled, "ahhh," returning the pen to the paper she sketched out the three triangle shape on the woman's dress, "...Nice."

The uncanny resemblance to her mother was more surprising than Chel would've expected, "...but you're not her," she frowned as the cold wind picked up.

"Oh my, what a beautiful drawing," her shoulders tensed violently at the sound of a child's voice, "is that...Miss-"

"Hush...she doesn't know," there was a slap that sounded from the tree, Chel looked up, but there was nothing.

"So," jerking her head forward, she saw two kids standing at the base of the hill, "...you're visiting again?"

"...What," her brows furrowed, "are you kids lost or something?"

"Are you lost," the question sounded like they were mocking her, but it seemed genuine at the same time, "...do you wanna play?"

"Umm, no kids, I'm kinda-"

"Busy," looking up, she found another kid hanging from a tree branch, and another peeking from around a bush of leaves, "...you seem bored though."

"Yeah," the kids dropped from the tree and tumbled down to where the other kids were and they all started shoving each other before turning to look at her in a huge lump, "...you're bored."

"Well, no I'm not," Chel couldn't pull her eyes off of them. Each of them looked as similar as the other – clothes, face, hair – the only thing that told them apart were the masks that were strapped to their backs, "I'm just trying to get some silence," although she didn't show it, she was growing a little intrigued by the kids, so she flipped her sketch book closed and stuffed it in her satchel, but one of the kids came and snatched it up, "Hey!"

The child leaped back and laughed while the other kids followed, "Ooo look at this," they giggled mockingly, while she chased after them, "so sketchy! Oooo!"

"Okay, you kids aren't funny anymore," just then the sound of a harp caught Chel's ear and she looked back across the field. There was no one, "...Hmmm...wait, you guys-huh?"

Where the kids had been, lay her sketchbook, unscathed and closed, "...what," where in the world had they gone, "...guess I scared them."

Picking up her sketchbook, she headed back over to the tree and stuffed it in her satchel, tossing it over her shoulder, "...I'm so done," pressing her hand against the tree, she sighed, "bye...I'll visit another time okay? You can have the rest of the apple."

Heading through the field, Chel looked back at the sky, "...Noon already," she'd only left not too long before seven o'clock, "...Oh well."

Normally, She'd stay out all day on a weekend so she wouldn't have to deal with her parents, but her bed was sounding quite tempting at the moment. Finding the bike, she propped it up and headed up onto the road. Kicking off, she sighed, "let's go get you a new light okay?"

The ride didn't seem to take as long as it had since she was able to tail a car that was passing by. It sped into the city and she let go, swerving through traffic and up onto the curb of the sidewalk. The bike shop was down by the high school, so Chel wasn't 100% on going by there. Turning corners and skipping streets, she found herself on the other side of town, where the workshops and most loved gas station were. People were bustling about, many getting their car heaters replaced or just out drinking a hot coffee with a friend. Looking around, Chel rode down the street until she came across an alleyway. Screeching to a halt, she walked the bike down until she found a side garage. Heading in, she looked around for someone to talk to.

The sound of a wrench caught her attention. Over on the right, behind a stack of random pieces of metal scraps and bike applicants, was a man. His face was covered by a mechanic's mask, his burly black arms stuck out from a white shirt with a jumpsuit wrapped around his waist, his dreads were tied back by a rubber band. It looked as though he were messing with a torch. Chel wasn't sure on whether to interrupt him or not, but she was in somewhat of a hurry to get home.

Tapping on the garage door, she cleared her throat, "Excuse me," the man jumped and ended up banging his head on the cabinet above him.

"Ahh shiii-what do you want! I'm a little-oh," as he turned around, he paused at the sight of her. Clearing his throat, he gave a little wave, "sorry uhh...Can I help you?"

"...well," She watched him approach and tried to figure out what to say, "Uhh you're a part of the bike shop right?"

"I own it," his voice was muffled but she could hear the pride in his voice, "And I run this mechanic shop in the back," he waved his arm around to emphasize what he meant, "...the name's Dongo."

"Oh...uhhh, is the bike shop closed right now?"

"It is," seeing the way her shoulders slumped, he scratched the side of his head, "but, I could hook you up with whatever you need right now if ya want, I'm not picky."

"Really? That's great," smiling a little, Chel found herself liking the man already, she'd only been by the shop three or four times, but she'd never seen him before, there was usually a stand-in up front, "ummm...thank you Mr. Dongo."

"Just call me Dongo," she could hear the smile behind the mask, but the sudden jerk he made toward her bike surprised her, "...Ohhhh, you're from that one neighborhood. With the special bike? Yeah, I fixed the little guy up just the other day," he was much taller than her, so he had to squat to at least keep her from craning her neck, "I don't think I've ever seen you come in to take care of'em...I think the kid before was uhhh...K..Ki...-"

"Kiel?"

"Yeah that's the name, Kiel," he snapped with enthusiasm, "real smart guy. So, what's your name?"

"It's Chel," she was surprised by how comfortable she felt talking to this complete stranger, he was another of the rare people she met who didn't criticize her on the spot, "...uhh I was wondering if I could get a light fixed onto'em. On the handle maybe?"

"No problem, that'll be about eighteen bucks there miss."

Taking up her wallet, she took out her twenty and handed it to him, "Thank you."

"No problem...you know what," pulling out her change from his pocket, he handed it to her, "how bout I throw in a new chain, for free."

"Oh well uhh you don't have to," Chel didn't want to be rude, but she had honestly hoped to not stay long.

"No, it's fine," taking the bike from her, Dongo headed out through a door, "come back later alright?"

"O...okay," sighing heavily, she headed out of the garage, "great, now what?"

Her boots scraped against the floor as she left the alleyway, her attention focused on her day so far, "Weird illusions in the bathroom, freaky stalker deal in the forest, weird illusion from the sun, awkward moment with those quadruplets...Oh," reaching into her pocket, Chel realized the sticky note she had earlier was gone, "...the note, hmm...time," shaking her head, she frowned, "I swear they're terrible at playing jokes."

Lost in her rambling, she hadn't noticed how far she'd wandered, until she was cut off by a couple of pre-teens running by. Watching them speed across the street, she found herself standing on the other side of town, the ice cream stand she'd come across earlier just down the sidewalk, "...Wow, I gotta get this floating under control," looking at the few people waiting in line, she wondered just how much ice cream was left, "might as well get some I guess."

Heading down, she found her stomach growling loudly, "yikes," waiting for the last two people to order their choice of dairy, she stepped up herself, "Hi," searching for her money she sighed, "I was wondering if...I...could-"

"Oh my, what a pretty young lady," her eyes locked onto the woman standing in front of her – her strawberry-blonde hair flowing down her back and bright gold eyes mesmerizing – she looked almost completely identical to her mother, and closer to the woman in her drawing, "what's the matter," her voice was like nectar._ Is she some kind of goddess?_

"I...I-oh gosh uhh, you're really beautiful," shocked by her own words, Chel slapped herself internally as she tried to comprehend what exactly she was seeing. _Am I some kind of mind freak? _She wasn't at all ready to find out.

* * *

Okay, so I hope you guys enjoyed the read. I quite enjoy how this chapter turned, I have an idea on how I'm going to construct the next chapter, so hopefully it won't take me too long to get it out. Also, I'm sorry if it seems like things are building slowly. Please review and favorite if U Liek. Much love to you all.


	3. Gears

Gears

* * *

Chel found herself flushing a cherry red as the woman before her laughed heartily at her blunt response, "Well, aha thank you very much, I appreciate your flattery," her smile was unbelievably striking as well, "You're none too different yourself young lady," giving her a wink, Chel couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

"Oh...thanks, I guess," although she didn't think much of herself, she found the woman's words to be quite genuine, "...uhh oh, yeah sorry," inwardly slapping herself, she smiled, "I was going to ask if I could have a chocolate ice cream."

"Sure thing," the lady leaned into her stand and searched around, "oh my, uhh I'm sorry," frowning, the woman sighed, "it looks like I ran out."

"Well, don't worry about it," tucking the money away, Chel smiled at her, "it's no big deal."

"Of course it is, tell ya what," her gold eyes shined brightly, "how about I give you a 'special' kind of ice cream. No need to pay, since I can't give you what you want."

"Oh, uhh you don't have to do that," grateful for the offer, she couldn't take it without paying, "seriously, it's fine I'll-"

"Hang on a sec," the lady didn't seem to catch her words or just ignored them, "it's around here somewhere...ah," a few more moments of struggling and she came back up, an ice cream cone in hand, "here we are."

"Whoa," Chel stared at the thing, it swirled into three different colors – red, green and blue – with golden sprinkles on top, "that's different."

"It's very special," the lady handed it over, "try it. I think you'll love it."

"Oh umm, okay," taking the cone into her hand, she stared at it, trying to figure out which way to lick it, "hmmm," taking a lick straight up, she paused for a moment as a sudden fluttering sensation filled her stomach, "woah," the smell of fresh fields filled her nose, "that's...amazing!"

"I told you," the woman smiled, "I know a fan when I see one."

"I love it," every time the cream touched her tongue, it was as if she kept being tossed into a bed of flowers, "it's so good."

"I rarely find anyone different enough around here to like it, you're the first in a very long time," the sadness in the woman's voice caught her attention, "but it's just an acquired taste."

"I guess, if you don't like being in nature, then you probably won't like it," she continued to lick away at the tasty treat, still unable to accurately explain the flavor, "I can sit here all day and eat this."

"Well you sort of have," the woman frowned at her, confusing her a little.

"What," just then, Chel caught sight of a three-triangle earring in the woman's ear, "...huh."

"What, I said I hope you come back," she shrugged questioningly at her.

"Oh," Chel contemplated her words, "if you're here again, then yeah I'll definitely come by."

"That's great," the lady smiled brightly, "...I enjoyed serving you the first time."

Chel had to pause for a minute. _She must mean she liked giving this to me, "_Of course," sighing, she looked around, "I guess I should get going," the woman frowned a bit, "I gotta go check up on the bike I brought here."

"Well, alright," she began cleaning up her stand, "have a nice day!"

"You too," heading down the sidewalk once again, Chel smiled to herself, "this day is weird, but it's pretty fun too," taking another lick of her ice cream, she tried to fight the dreamy sensation and focus on her journey, "what's in this? Drugs?"

Making her way across town again, she headed for the front of the shop since it was probably open by then. Finishing her cone, she pushed her way inside, the sound of the bell catching Dongo's attention.

"Oi," he was with a customer at the counter, by the looks, they were discussing something about seats since there was an array of them being propped up on the counter, "I got the little one fixed up," he laughed suddenly which caught her off guard, "you know, it doesn't take six hours to get a chain on a bike."

"What are you talking about," Chel frowned at the remark, "I was out getting ice cream."

"If ice cream takes that long to get, I'm a little worried about leaving you on your own," he sighed while ringing the customer up, "anyway, the little one's over there," he nudged his head to the left, "hope you like'em."

Looking around, she found the thing leaning against the wall, a new light set and clean chain affixed to the tires, "Nice," taking it up, she listened to the clicking of the chain as the tires rolled, "I love it."

"Have a nice day," he waved the customer off while heading over to her, "yup, one of the top chains we've got. Should run like a rabbit on wheels."

"I...I really appreciate it, I should pay you for this," she looked at him worryingly while pulling out her wallet.

"Oi oi, no worries," he waved his hands up in a surrendering pose, his face was well chiseled, "it's alright. I don't need you're money, I'm satisfied if you're satisfied short stuff."

"Well...thanks," a little upset, she sighed, there was no use arguing with him, "I guess I should go," walking the bike to the door, she let him open the door for her, "...have a nice day."

"You too, try not to dose off again okay," the sound of his laughter caught her ear as she rode off.

"Six hours," Chel, to her surprise, found the sky dimming quite a bit, "...six hours," sighing, she gave up on trying to comprehend what was going on with her, "guess I should stop by the school before I go home," heading out to the right outskirts of town, she frowned, "Ugh."

The ride wasn't long, she had to pass by one of the city neighborhoods by the farm fields and there it was, on the other side of the street, "...hello Hylow High...didja miss me," her stomach lurched the usual way it did when she knew there was no way out of going in the nightmare of a place.

Rolling her eyes, Chel sighed while cutting across the street, "whatever," the sound of the bike clicking was the only noise on the grounds as she passed the gate. The school had a sort of gothic look to it, with the gray bricks and black-bar fence. The cold air whipped across the campus as if it were home to an ancient sarcophagus. Her legs peddled her up to the bike rack.

"I'll be back," She whispered lightly, not wanting to jinx her luck at that moment.

Hopping up the steps, Chel made way for the inside, feeling a wave of warmth wash over her. She was surprisingly numb on the face. Taking off her beanie, she worked her way through the main office before heading out to the main hall. Taking a left, she could hear the sound of voices coming from the library, "Good they're still here," heading through the open doors, she found a few teachers and other tutors standing by the main checkout counter.

"Oh hello, Chel," one of the teachers waved her over, "how are you doing? I was beginning to wonder if you'd even show up."

"I'm alright," scratching her head, she sighed, "yeah I'm sorry, I was sort of out of it today."

"I'm sure," one of the male tutors chuckled, "at least you made it though."

"Yeah, so," looking over to the woman behind the counter, she smiled a little, "hello, Miss Apim," she was caramel-skinned like her, with full lips and white hair pulled back into a ponytail, "is the library still available?"

The woman turned to acknowledge her with a nod. Although she rarely spoke, Chel felt most comfortable being around her, the woman had few words to share, but it was obvious when she took a liking to someone. Most of the tutors and teachers got up, gathering their things to leave.

"By the way," a tutor about her age, tapped her shoulder, "you work from six to three," he readjusted his bag, "get a good sleep."

"Jamie's coming?"

"Jamie's coming," everyone nodded in agreement.

"I hope he's gotten better at his math," frowning, Chel shrugged, "I worry about that kid."

"We all do," they said in unison once again.

"Alright, have a nice day guys," Chel waved them off and turned back to Apim, "so, I'll stay and clean up around the place."

With a simple wave of the hand, Chel shrugged and made way for the drop box, pulling the crate to follow her, "Let's see," looking through it, she smiled, "only two books today? That's hard to believe," picking them up she scanned them over, both belonging to the fictional section of the library, "alrightie," heading over she looked at the cover of the bigger book, "Rrrroberts," looking for the 'Ro' section, she sighed, "there you are big bud," pushing it in between the other books, she searched for the next section, "Ra...hmm," just a few sections over, she tucked the other book away, "there we are."

Wiping her hands clean, Chel looked around, "...Hey Miss Apim," she didn't bother looking over to her, the woman had ears like a cat, "how long have you lived here," she just examined every little bit of the room. She'd been there about six years by then, it was a depressing time, moving from her old town.

"...My whole life," the deep resonating voice of hers came from behind, scaring Chel to the core.

"Oh geez," heaving exasperatedly, she groaned, "can't you make a _sound _at least to let me know you're there," watching the woman walk off, she rolled her eyes, "you seriously are some kind of-," her eyes locked onto something that thumped into the drop box, "...ninja," heading over, she picked it up, "well aren't you something."

Whatever had been dropped in was covered by some sort of cloth similar to a potato sack. A brown string keeping the fabric tied around it. It felt heavier than she would've expected, but she looked for some clue that let her know what it was. Pausing, she looked back at the drop box, finding a slip of paper resting inside, "hmmm," picking it up, she unfolded and was surprised to find her name on it, "for me?"

"Hmph," Chel nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Apim's grunt, causing her to nearly drop the object.

"Oi, stop trying to kill me," catching herself, she tried to ease her heart as Apim stared at the package questioningly, "...I don't know, someone dropped it here. Apparently it's for me."

Eying the thing even more suspiciously, Apim frowned, "...be careful," and she turned to walk away.

"Right...coming from the woman who wants to give me a heart attack," stuffing the package in her satchel, Chel sighed while putting on her beanie, "...I guess I should get going now, parents are probably worried sick. Bye Miss Apim."

"Hmph."

Heading out to the front of the school, she took the bike and made way for home. The streets were crowded with people and traffic. Cars honked and people shouted as she maneuvered her way through them. Although she hadn't been out long, she'd apparently been gone the whole day. Feeling the tires hit the bridge, Chel rid herself of the nasty city air, the sweetness of the island air calling for her. Taking deep breaths, she felt herself getting lightheaded, but she sighed with satisfaction, "Ahhhh yeah."

The night air was much colder than the morning air, so she began to involuntarily shake as the wind whipped at her cheeks, "aiya...so coooooold," speeding for dear life, she hopped off the bike as she made it across and ran it to the tree, setting it down, "I'll see you another time kay? Kay, bye," jogging down the dirt road, she rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to conduct as much heat as possible, "gotta get home, gotta get home."

Although the forest was pitch black at night, Chel didn't have much of an issue navigating her way through it. The sound of owls in the distance always made her crack up, she always felt like she was in some kind of horror movie because of it. Spotting the gates, she ran over to them, pushing the button on her satchel to get them to open. There were a few kids outside, but mostly everyone was in their houses trying to stay warm.

"Hiiii, Chel," the kids shouted as she passed by, they were the only ones out of the whole neighborhood to even speak kindly to her – even when her parents weren't around.

"Oi...shouldn't ya'll be in bed or eating or something," she stopped one of their balls from hitting her face and tossed it back to them, "I can't play right now, I gotta go."

"Okaaaaay," giggling, they ran off.

"Children...I swear," rushing for her steps, she made her way inside, Tim's voice filling her ears already.

"You're finally here," he didn't sound all too happy as she approached the kitchen through the main hall, "dinner's been ready for well over an hour now," Aldez was nowhere in sight, "I even took the time to make the shrimp the way you like it."

"...Right," irritation was already beginning to fill her to the core, not even one minute inside the house and her father was already trying to make her feel bad, "it's fine, I'm not hungry," leaving him behind, she growled as he stood up to follow her, "if you're going to 'lecture' me I've heard it too many times."

"Obviously not if you're still going to act the way you do," he followed her up the stairs, "what were you doing out so late anyway? You better not have been sleeping around with some-"

"It's kind of sad that you'd think your own daughter a slut," smiling in disgust, Chel stopped at her door, "for your information, _dad_," she nearly gagged at using the word, "I was happily staying away from this hell-hole of a 'home' so that I wouldn't have to deal with your failure-of-a-parent self," she could see the anger in his features by the way he fidgeted, "you've walked away plenty of times for this one not to bother me, but I could care less because I know for a fact that you wouldn't even begin to understand how much you hurt me," her mind was beginning to flutter but she ignored it, "you wouldn't be able to understand because you don't even pay attention to me!"

"Don't talk to me that way you little brat-"

"I will talk to you the way I want to right now because I'm through with your bullshit," her head was pounding the moment she cursed, "I'm tired. I'm tired of you not caring, I'm tired of not having parents. I'm tired of being dragged in the mud, being forced to choke down everything that is dropped on me. I hate being here," the pain was growing behind her eyes, "I wish we never came here! I wish you never made your stupid company and I wish I'd never been born," those last words must've struck a nerve in him, because she could see tears welling up in his eyes.

Unfortunately, Chel was a little too busy to deal with his emotions, because she felt like her head was going to split in two, "...I'm going to bed," Tim tried to talk to her, but she muttered at him, "leave me alone," and shrugged her arm away which only made the pain even worse. Suddenly, she was seeing double, and a split second later, she found herself on the ground staring at the wall in her dad's arms, "...you...you actually noticed me...shocker."

"Stop talking," his voice was laced with concern but she was already falling out, "you ha...fever...Aldez-water," everything muffled out into the background and she felt herself being lifted from the ground before all her senses died.

-OoOoOoO-

_She was falling, her hair whipping out wildly around her. __Clouds were flowing past her in white puffs, for some reason, she couldn't move. __Her body plummeted faster and faster by the second, sunlight flashing through her hair. _

_ "Where am I," She thought as she fought to move._

_ "You...n Hyr..." trying to hear where the voice was coming from, Chel frowned, failing to catch all the words, "..uo're I...rule."_

_ "What," she strained to figure out what was going on, but the wind roar__ed__ in her ears, "what did you say? What-rule?"_

_ "You're in H-" she felt herself get sucked through what looked like a tunnel full of gears that __were edged with aqua__ before falling into a sea of black. _

_ "Wait, what? What did you say," her thoughts were left unrequited as the tunnel to the other world slowly began to shrink into the __black room__, leaving her in total darkness, "...what's going on?"_

_ "...Chel," her ears perked to the voice behind __her__, "...Chel? Are you okay? Chel," suddenly, the world around her began sucking itself into her, "Chel? Chel wake-"_

-OoOoOoO-

"-up," Chel eye's slowly cracked open, the light from her blinds blurring her vision, "you okay?"

"Mmm," slowly, she focused in on the figure beside her bed, from the shape of the body it appeared to be her mother, "...Aldez?"

"You have a fever," the softness of her tone didn't do much to relax her, "we rushed you to the hospital last night," she could see the black bags under her eyes, "they couldn't figure out what was wrong with you, so they sent us home to give you some rest," Aldez had her hand over her forehead, a warm rag resting there, "how are you feeling?"

"...I'm okay," swallowing, Chel noticed her father sitting on the bean bag, head resting in his hands, he was snoring lightly, "..." judging by the ruffled hair and disorganized clothing, he must've been up watching her as well, "...I'm sorry," even though she didn't like how they were, she never wanted to make anybody worry themselves sick over her, "I didn't mean t-"

"Stop," she caught sight of the frown on her mother's face, "you don't have to apologize for anything," Chel couldn't decide on whether she liked where things were going or not, "if anything, you should be yelling at us," tears were rolling down the grown woman's face, "I know it'll probably take months, years a whole life time to get you to forgive us, but," the way her hand hesitantly moved along showed that she wanted to touch her, "we just, we're making mistakes like mad...I was so proud to give birth to you," Aldez couldn't even look at her she was crying so hard, "but I hate myself for not being able to be the parent I've always dreamed of being to you. You didn't have anyone to call parents," she chuckled a bit, "I admit, I was a little surprised the day you started calling me by my first name, but I know I deserve it," resting her hand on her cheek, she sighed, "we're practically strangers. I'm so sorry...I'm sorry."

Chel had no idea on how to respond to her, it was the longest conversation they ever had since they moved to Hylow, by the looks, everything had started to eat her up from the inside out and she probably would've died of depression if she hadn't said anything to her by then. It was true, Chel was upset and probably would take years to recover from the neglect she'd dealt with, but she didn't want to hate her parents. Watching the woman was a sad sight.

"Aldez," taking her hand from her forehead, she sat herself up, "it's fine," pulling her into her arms, she comforted the woman, "...I don't know when we'll be okay, but don't go being all emotional on me, you're already as fragile as glass."

"...Only for you," she could feel her fingers clinging to her for dear life, "I want to make up for not giving you a proper childhood. I don't care how long it takes, I want you to be okay."

The sound of coughing caught both of their attention, but they didn't move from their position, her mother continuing to bury her face in her chest. Tim had woken up, eyes startled and alert, but seeing Chel awake relieved him, "Oh thank God," he approached the two, "how are you feeling? Do you need any painkillers?"

"I'm fine Tim," releasing her mother, Chel watched him drop to his knees to look up at her, "just...a little tired."

"I'm just glad you're okay," the tears were already pouring down his face, "I...I, listen-" even if he was sorry, she knew he wasn't one to go to for a good apology, "...we, gosh uhhh, okay w-"

"It's fine Tim," Chel shrugged, although things were still awkward from the fight, she just wanted to get the whole sob party over and done with, "...I'm alive, that's all you need to think about."

"I have a lot more to worry about," he looked away, obviously inwardly beating himself, "I nearly killed you last night. I think it's impossible to hate myself any more than I already do for even hurting you in the first place," sighing, he adjusted the glasses he wore around the house, "we swore to be great parents, but we ended up being the complete opposite."

"People...make mistakes."

"No, this is more than just a mistake," finally looking into her eyes, Tim frowned, "That's why I'm retiring-"

"Okay-whoa, let's not do anything drastic here."

"No, I've decided already that by the end of the month, I'm retiring," he was in serious mode by then, "I can't let this keep going on. I thought I was doing the right thing, giving you top quality material, but I just," he nearly choked on his agony, "I couldn't seem to figure it out, I couldn't connect with you and I really wish that I had the moment we fell apart."

"Well," scratching her head, Chel had a feeling that she was going to be suffocated fairly quickly, "why don't you just take more vacations and breaks, you don't have to leave entirely, I mean...I know how much NAVI means to you."

"Well I just-"

"He and I will talk about it more later," Aldez looked at him and he nodded, "right now, we want to fix us."

"Well...alright," scratching her head, Chel sighed, "ummm what exactly do you want to do," she wanted them to care, but she didn't think of how they would begin to show that. Plus, her feelings were on the fence of whether they were being genuine or if it was one of those 'in the moment' kind of things.

"How about," Aldez smiled a little, looking at the both of them, "you share some very important facts about yourself?"

"...That sounds," she wanted to say ridiculous, but it made sense to get comfortable with the basics of a relationship, it was like she was on a date, "cool I guess."

"...I know you like Chocolate," she winked at her.

"Of course, it's like heaven's golden fruit," snapping her fingers, she looked at the both of them, "yesterday! When I was out, I got this _amazing _ice cream, it was like," furrowing her brows she tried to remember every detail, "this swirl of three different colors – red, green and blue right? And it had these gold bead-like sprinkles, it was just – UGH – to die for!"

"Really," Aldez raised a brow a little and looked at Tim, both of them a little surprised, "I remember before we moved here, you were three years old or so, I had taken you out shopping with me," Chel watched her intently, "I got you this ice cream that was exactly like the kind you had yesterday."

"I remember that," Tim smiled, "you wouldn't stop talking about it when you got home, like the world was gonna end if you did, always saying you were running through flowers," he frowned a little, "we couldn't find it anywhere. I searched it up online and asked some of the oldest ice cream companies about it, they called me crazy for even coming up with something that weird it."

"Haha, yeah and you kept telling me that the woman who served you was my sister," Aldez giggled a little, "it was too funny, I had to look in the mirror when I got home."

Chel hadn't any clue what they were talking about, but something in the back of her mind nagged violently at her, "ooooooh," rubbing her temples, she felt Tim's hands on her.

"Are you alright? Want some medicine?"

"No, no I'm fine," she sighed heavily, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose, "could I...be alone for now? I want to sleep a little more."

The two looked at each other and back to her, "Well, alright," Aldez watched her, hesitant to leave, "you give us a call if you need anything okay?"

"I will," Chel felt her body draining of whatever strength she had as she lay back down, pulling the blankets over her, "just, close the door please."

"Okay, goodnight Chel," Tim said a little concerned as he clicked the door shut.

Chel lay there confused, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't really move without her head pulsing. It was that familiar pain she had when she was out in the field, "Oh this hurts," pushing the covers off, she crawled to the other side of the bed, twisted the blinds closed and curled into the fetal position, face buried into her knees.

She felt dizzy, "I can't deal," cracking her eyes open a little, she noticed her satchel laying on the floor next to her desk, "...the package," scrunching her nose, she slid off the bed and slipped onto the floor, searching through her bag for said item, "there you are," trying to ignore the ring of fire that threatened to blast her head off, she sat down at her desk and stared at the string holding the fabric closed.

"Hmmm," Chel didn't feel too eased with the thing laying there, as if something was waiting to jump out and attack, "...huh," pulling the string up, she watched the knot in the middle slowly shrink and fall apart, curiosity starting to take hold of her.

Rubbing her fingers against the fabric, she unfolded it and literally felt as though she were going to faint. Laying before her, was an ancient leather book, closed tight by a faded-black leather tri-strap that connected in the center by the three-triangle shape she had began to think about quite profusely – the shape was a burnt metal color but she always saw the thing in her mind as a yellowish-gold. Running her fingers over the straps, she noticed strange symbols lined up on each one, her head began to ache even more as she stared at them. _Some sort of old language?_

The book smelled of ancient times, so Chel tried to be as delicate with it as possible. Checking for any sign of a button to get the straps to release, she lifted it gingerly with the tips of her fingers, the weight still surprised her. Turning the book over, she found herself amazed to find what looked like the inner workings of a clock fixed right into the cover of the book, the straps vanishing underneath it all. In the center, was a gear a bit smaller than her hand, it shimmered blue and purple as if it were made of some pearlescent stone. In the center was the image of another three-triangle shape, but surrounding it were three odd shapes – one that reminded her of the biohazard sign, another that looked like two crescent moons holding a full one and another that looked as though it were a scroll just split into three sections.

"Hmm," Chel's head was on the brink of having a conniption eruption by that point, she could barely focus, much less hear anything save for a loud ringing as if someone had shot a gun right next to her ear, "uuuugh," fighting off the invasive feeling, she ran her finger over the gear, nearly jumping out of her skin as it rose about half an inch from the rest of the gears, "...well...they're not moving," fitting her fingers in a couple of the notches, she took a deep breath, "here goes," moving her hand delicately, she tried to twist it clockwise, but found herself unsuccessful, "...Uh-huh maybe...backwards," twisting it the opposite way, she inwardly cheered as the gear moved along twisting and clicking the other gears around it, "so...how many times," scrunching her nose, she twisted the gear again and again. One click, two clicks, three clicks, over and over again until something would happen.

"Okay," by the fifteenth click, she found herself growing a little desperate, hoping for the next twist to work, "...come on you stupid piece of-"

Suddenly, the straps that held the book closed, snapped, as if she had wound a toy up too much that the spring broke. The amount of force it sprang with was enough to chip the wood on her desk. Chel didn't know what to do, because the moment the straps were gone, the pearlescent gear she had been twisting had popped right out of the cover, grown to immense size, and nearly broke through the roof. She'd backed up to her door out of mere shock. Trying to get her breathing under control, she felt excitement beginning to fill her to the core, "this is insane!"

Before she could step closer, she slapped her hands over her ears as two other gears appeared out of thin air, screeching into position above the main one. It looked as though they were coming right out of a portal. Her eyes were roaming all over the place, trying to soak up what exactly she was seeing. Slowly, the gears began to work, twisting at the pace of a ticking clock. The sound it made reminded her of the grandfather clock they had downstairs, except it was much louder. Trying to pull herself together, she felt her body lock up.

"Huh?" trying to move herself, she failed miserably as her body began to inch toward the gear, "oh crap," fighting with all her strength, she felt hopeless, "Aldez! Tim," she couldn't hear anything, save the dragging of her feet and the gears, "Tim! Aldez," there came no response. _Good Lord, why do you have to be deaf now!?_

Chel felt her heart jump up to her throat as the center of the main gear flashed a white light and peeled away from the center out, revealing a pitch black hole that grew closer by the second, "you guys!?" as if she were in space, she felt all the air around her being sucked into the gear, the maw howling loudly, "MOM DAD!"

Just then, her legs fell from under her and she was sucked right into the darkness of the alternate space, the sound of her door clicking and her mother's screams following after. Her heart pounded as she continued to fly forward, her eyes blanketed by the black space. The familiar room was catching her attention, _that dream. _Peering as deep into the space as possible, she found what looked like the tunnel she'd fallen through before in the distance. Her body plummeted for it like a train. The only strange thing was that they flickered as if they were light bulbs powered by electricity.

"I don't like this," she whined as the silent air around her continued to suck her through. The tunnel grew closer and closer, "oh no," Chel screwed her eyes shut as she approached, but by the last second, she took a peek and failed to shut them again as the gears consumed her sight, speeding past her and roaring like a subway. She didn't know when, but she found herself screaming of joy at the sight the night sky at the end of the tunnel.

She still couldn't move, but the thought of getting out of there was reassuring. Feeling the cramped space coming to an end, she took a deep breath and shut her eyes as the room around her vanished. The only issue from being pulled was suddenly feeling like she was falling. Her stomach lurched as she opened her eyes, _I'm so dead. _Screaming at the top of her lungs, Chel found herself plummeting right for a forest. The wind blasted violently in her face. Suddenly, she was able to move herself, so she curled into a ball, not wanting to see her death approach. Her body twisted and twirled in the air, her stomach lurching more and more by the second as the forest grew closer.

"Aldez...Tim, I'm sorry," even if the words didn't reach them, she still felt like calling their names, "please don't cry over me..."

"...Chel," there was a whisper that caught her ear, but she tried to ignore it, "...Chel listen to me," _I'm kind of in a state of peril, I'd like to die with peace of mind_, "you're not going to die."

She must've spaced out at some point, because when she opened her eyes, she found herself frozen in mid-air, right above the trees. In front of her was a flickering image of a woman, but it was too blurry to make out.

"What's going on? Who are you?"

"Chel, you ne...to s..ay calm," her words fleeted as she spoke, "I ca...kee...is up."

"What are you talking about," Chel was looking all around for something to get a hold of, but there was nothing, "I need to get down, I have to get home!"

"Be careful-"

Just then, the figure flickered out and Chel found herself falling once again. Lashing out for anything, she gripped onto a branch but it snapped under her weight, leaving her smacking into other ones during her descent. It felt like whips were lashing her skin. At some point, she ended up flipping around before slamming into the soil at the bottom. Heaving for air, she tried to move, but her body had just taken one of the worst beatings in her life. Her hands were cut all over, her back was probably bruised to no end and her stomach felt as though it just got through a round of boxing. Worst of all, her head was fixing to split in two.

"Hmmm," trying to lift her head, she felt her body draining of energy, "gotta...go," her vision was blurring, her head felt heavy, "home," the sound of child's laughter was the last thing she heard before the darkness consumed her.

* * *

So, here is the next chapter. The adventure has finally begun. If U Liek, favorite, leave a review or just send me a message. You can contact me on my Tumblr as well. I really hope you guys enjoyed the read.


	4. Childlike Laughter

Childlike Laughter and the Eyes That Sting

* * *

_"Well someone's going to take care of this an-"_

_ "Be still child, I will not tolerate your foolery."_

_ "Of all the people who shouldn't be talking about foolery, it is you!"_

_ Chel could hear the voices, they sounded familiar. Slowly her eyes cracked open to see a clear sky._

_ "They're going to be furious once they've found out that you-"_

_ "I had nothing to do with her appearance to this time! Now hold your tongue before things get ugly."_

_ Turning her head, she could see a bunch of bodies sitting cross-legged beside her._

_ "Well if it wasn't you then who?"_

_ "Isn't it obvious," another voice sounded from the other side, but her eyes were still focused on the ones beside her, "he's clearly figured out a way to control my creations as well!"_

_ Slowly, Chel worked her eyes upward while taking in the details of each person – white shorts, white shirts – the only difference were the masks that rested on their faces. They were all looking straight ahead at something or someone on the other side. Her attention was focused intensely on their masks. _

_ "I've seen those before," instantly, their heads shot down to look at her, the eyes of the masks boring into her soul, "...you're those kids right, from the other day," sitting up, she stared at them hard, "so I'm...I'm back home."_

_ Looking around them, she found nothing but the field of flowers that extended to lengths never-ending, the blue sky touching the green fields, "what?"_

_ "So you're awake," the child with a mask that looked like a tribesman had tilted their head to her, "now we can settle this issue."_

_ "What issue, what are you talking about," she was growing more and more frustrated with all the confusion, "I don't even know who you are."_

_ "WE, my dear," the kid with a fish face tilted their head next, "are the four giants that guard over this realm."_

_ "...Giants," looking at them all, Chel couldn't quite grasp the situation that they were putting on the table, "you're...giants?"_

_ "It may be hard to believe in this prison state," the child with three eyes and pincers shrugged their shoulders, "but yes...we are the protectors of Termina, an alternate universe to yours."_

_ "...Right, my alternate universe, uhhh and what exactly might that be?"_

_ "Hyrule," they all said in unison and the child with the goat-man face continued, "you are here for counsel-"_

_ "Well, I don't need any counseling unless it's for finding a way back to my...alternate universe err, whatever you just said."_

_ "You can't go back now."_

_ "What are you talking about," the panic that rose in her sent her heart fluttering, "I HAVE to get back. My parents are waiting for me."_

_ "We cannot provide you a way back child-"_

_ "Okay, don't call me child," the weird colloquial was getting to her, "I can blatantly understand everything you're saying. Why can't I get back to MY home."_

_ "...Sorcery."_

_ "...Now you're telling me to believe in all this magic mumbo-jumbo."_

_ "Well of course," the voice from earlier got her to crane her neck, "you have it in you as well," it was the ice cream lady, except, she looked more like an actual goddess in her white robing._

_ "You're here too," the words came out a little rudely, but she was feeling a little stabbed in the back at the moment, "are you kidding me?"_

_ "I know Chel," her voice still sounded as heavenly as last time, "but you can't expect to get rid of me now can you?"_

_ "Well gee, I don't know, I kinda just met you yesterday. Who are you anyway?"_

_ "I am Hylia, the Goddess of Time," her eyes seemed saddened by her words, but it didn't do any better to ease Chel's mood._

_ "What's this deal about magic?"_

_ "Magic, my friend, is the very reason why you are here," the matter-of-fact tone was a little upsetting, but if it was gonna get her answers, she'd deal with it, "you came here through one of my Gates of Time," the frown on her face was a little bothersome, "at least, it 'was' mine," sighing she shook her head, the angelic glow messing up Chel's eyes a little, "anyway, this magic, dark magic to be exact, was used to bring you here. The person in charge of said magic is a sorcerer. He came from nowhere and took Hyrule under his wing, reeking havoc upon the land. Many have died and all has been cursed by his hand. You weren't supposed to be here until you-"_

_ "Whoa whoa whoa wait, what," raising her hands, she had to stop the woman from speaking anymore nonsense, "I was gonna be kidnapped to this place anyway?"_

_ "Well, yes you were and I-"_

_ "What? You were gonna drag me here when I was 'ready' for some weird noble deed or something," anger was brimming her chest and she wasn't sure on how to control it at the moment, "why? Assuming this is all real...why do you need me here anyway?"_

_ "...There's a reason why you can see me child. There's a reason you can see any of us deities, a reason why I can enter your thoughts when necessary."_

_ Whether it was obvious or not, Chel's gears were grinding fairly hard at that moment, trying to mark up the most logical reasoning possible, "...no," when she couldn't come up with anything, but one idea popped up, "no..no, no, no I'm not some sort of spiritual 'guru' err whatever," standing up, she backed away from the group, mostly the woman who stared at her worriedly, "I can't...you can't, I'm not-"_

_ "Chel calm down-"_

_ "How can I? You're telling me I'm not human!"_

_ "You are though," standing herself, Hylia made way for her, "mortal and all, you're just...different."_

_ The words struck her like a chord, the same words her mother had used plenty of times on her. Did she sense something was wrong with her that whole time? Was this some sort of nightmare? Shaking her head, she backed away, "No, this is all ridiculous! I don't belong here."_

_ "It's time for her to awaken," the four children chimed from the side, catching both of their attention, "come play with us another time."_

_ "What," feeling her legs get sucked into what felt like sludge, she looked down to find the ground consuming her, "No! I want to go home!"_

_ "I'll be watching you Chel," Hylia stood there, watching her sink beneath the surface, "don't worry. You are m-"_

-OoOoOoO-

Chel's eyes shot open, her heart throbbing in her chest. Sitting up, she found herself surrounded by giant trees that extended as far as the eye could see. Looking around, she suddenly felt her whole body nearly pitch forward into the ground. Her muscles burned with a passion, her limbs as heavy as lead, head pounding vigorously and back ready to break apart. Trying hard, she stood herself up, a wave of nausea hitting her like a ton of bricks. Catching herself on a boulder, she tried to stop the pain in her head, but it seemed to beat its way to her core. The clenching of her stomach muscles pushed her past the point of no return.

Dropping to her knees, Chel dug out a curve into the soil and waited, the familiar sour taste that rose in her chest, the spazzing of her esophagus. Everything came up as she tucked her hair behind her ears, forcing her head down and out. Green bile spewed from her, stomach wrenching violently. It wasn't anywhere from over as she had hoped. Once every last bit of liquid was gone from her system, she dry heaved while trying to cover up the hole. Standing, her throat still spazzed, forcing her to constantly spit, but the headache she had been wearing was gone. It was a terrible feeling and she felt even more exhausted than when she had crash-landed there.

The sound of birds chirping caught her ear as sunlight shined down on her as she tried to rub away the grainy feeling in her teeth. Looking around, it finally hit her, she wasn't home anymore, "...Hyrule," she was in a far away land and there was no escaping it, "...hmmm," just then, she felt a familiar weight against her hip as she walked.

"Wow," looking down, Chel found her satchel resting snug around her body, "wait," tossing the flap open, she dug into the bag, feeling her fingers run across leather, "oh thank you sweet lord up above," snatching the ancient book up, she kissed it vigorously, "now let's," turning it over, her hopes were instantly dashed, bringing her back to the sour mood she was already in, "damn."

The gear that had originally glowed and mystified her was completely gone, an empty space where it once occupied, "fantastic...hmm," turning it back over, she looked at it frustratingly.

The straps that originally held it open, were hanging off of it, the three-triangle shape being their only latch. Feeling the cover's leather, she carefully opened the thing only to find completely blank ancient pages, "how 'bout that," fanning the pages, she nearly fainted at the sight of her own name, dropping the book on the ground, "what the hell?"

Before she could finish reading whatever it was, the sound of laughter caught her ear. It was an innocent child's giggle that echoed in the distance off to the right. Picking the book up, Chel tucked it away and looked in the general direction of the voice. The giggles sounded off once again, they seemed a little eery in the setting so she stuck with a route that didn't lead to it. Turning in the opposite direction, she took a deep breath before adjusting herself.

"Gotta find a way out first," and she set off on her journey.

-OoOoOoO-

Chel found herself growing desperate faster than she'd expected. Turned out, blindly heading through a forest was not at all as easy as it seemed. A multitude of times, she found herself getting stuck in a web of vines or nearly falling down a pit that looked as though it went on forever. Giant oversized spider things with skulls on their backs dropped from trees in what seemed to be attempts to scare the ever-loving life out of her. They had succeeded on probably, the first ten tries, but after dealing with it fifty times or more, she was about ready to beat one to death with her ancient book.

Her legs were burning by that point, the afternoon sky shining from above. The childlike laughter seemed to follow her, never growing closer, but never growing farther. Chel wasn't sure on what was going on anymore, _Watching over me alright, you getting a good laugh_, she had a few things to say to the woman when they met again_, if, _inwardly slapping herself, she pushed away the pessimism talking to her and trudged on. Her stomach growled loudly, gnawing at her and barking for food.

"Yeah well guess who's dealing with the pains," yelling at her lower half, she nearly ran into a tree, "Dammit, son of a- whoa," Chel felt her boot slip and she went tumbling down a slope, trying to tuck into herself and failing miserably. Her back collected more bruises to cake over the ones she had been given when she first arrived. Skidding to a stop at the bottom, she lay there for what seemed like forever, trying to calm her nerves.

"Okay...everything's fine," pushing herself up, she hissed at the pain in her lower back, "I'm too old for this," getting up, she carefully rolled up her sleeves, her hands still burning from all the cuts from hours prior.

"Alright...it's something new," looking up to where she'd fallen, Chel sighed, "something new means progress...I hope," adjusting her satchel, she turned on her heel and continued her walk.

Squeezing through fallen trees and climbing over boulders, she felt a new wave of hope, "I can make it...I think," though the walking went on forever, her faith never failed her, "I'll get out of here and find some place to sleep. I'll find a way home, I'll get back to Hylow, I'll get back to my giant bean bag chair, I'll get back to my hidden bookcase bathroom," though she rambled on, she could feel the burning of tears ready to make it through to the surface, "I'll get home...I'll get home, everything'll be okay."

The sound of a twig snapping in the distance caught her attention. Peering into the forest up ahead, Chel tried to figure out what was going on. The rustling of leaves sounded a bit closer. Whatever was out there, it was coming for her. Turning on her heel, she immediately speed walked in a random direction in hopes of losing whoever or whatever it was. To no avail, she was left in disappointment, the rustling grew louder and closer by the minute. Coming to a stop, she looked around.

"Okay," she thought, "it's definitely not friendly...gotta get somewhere safe," catching sight of a tree with low branches in the distance to her right, Chel paused, lightly tapping her fingers on her thigh, "alright," listening to the rustling grow closer, she felt her heart flutter, "one...two-"

The sound of growling got her legs to kick dust. Sprinting as fast as her legs would let her, she could hear the sound of it's paws thumping against the floor, it's ragged breathing, it's drooling, clicking teeth, "Please legs, move faster, I beg of you," the creature was closing in on her, but she was determined to get away.

Lungs burning, Chel nearly screamed at herself, "...Branch," spotting one that looked more like a club on the ground, she snatched it up, readying herself, "I can't believe I'm this stupid," taking a quick glance behind her, she prayed that her plan would work. Turning around, she used all her strength to lift the branch and swing it at whatever was coming her way, "please, please, please," the sudden force that met the end of her stick and the sight of it exploding into a million splintering pieces caused her to inwardly cheer.

Getting a good look at the stalker, she felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of a giant wolf that seemed to have large glowing green eyes – it's fur was all mangled, body deformed as if it could stand. It howled loudly, dragging it's face into the dirt, trying to get the splinters out of it's mug. Chel couldn't stop staring at it, but the sudden fleeting feeling she got as it turned to glare at her got her moving again. Turning, she sped down the pathway, tripping over uprooted trees and vines as the beast charged for her.

"Almost there," the sight of the tree a mere six yards away blessed her, "come on," as soon as she was close enough, Chel leaped as high as she possibly could, latching onto one of the lowest branches, "yes," pulling herself up, she screeched at the feeling of huge canines digging into her upper thigh, "FUUUUCK!"

The beast thrashed about wildly, jerking her to get her down. The pain seized her entire leg as the teeth sank in deeper and deeper. Anger filled her gut, _is this how I'm gonna die? As soon as my life was turning around, I have to get mauled by some freak of nature? Are you enjoying this Hylia, oh wonderful Goddess of Time? Fan-freakin-tastic. _The burning in her leg only fed the fire. _If only I busted it's skull open, maybe I still can. _Looking over her shoulder, she could see the beasts glowing eyes peering up at her as it jerked and tugged, refusing to let go. Blood was oozing it's way from inside her.

"I have to do this," looking straight ahead, she shut as much of the pain out as possible and focused on gathering the strength in her legs, "okay," grunting, she got her pits over the branch and lifted her free leg straight out in front of her. The weight was threatening to bring her down, but she wanted to survive.

_I'm not dying like this, _"RRRRAAAGH," swinging her leg back as hard as possible, she felt the beast whimper as it's gut gave way, it's air getting knocked right out of it. The force was so powerful, she felt her heel pull up and hook under one of it's ribs, snapping it on the way.

The beast screeched, howled and whimpered, it's teeth sliding out of her flesh and it fell to the ground below, running off in pure agony. Pulling herself up, Chel climbed a few more branches before resting against the trunk of the tree, hissing at the lameness of her leg. Pulling her sweater up, she examined the wound. Blood seeped out of the holes, she was going to die of blood loss if she didn't do something.

"Ai...ya," slipping her boot off, she took off her leg warmer and wrapped it around her thigh, tightening it as much as possible, "..."

Resting her head back, Chel stared off into the evening air, she had to get somewhere to hide, but she was already falling out, "What a nightmare," her eyes felt unbelievably heavy that they were closed a long ways before she was asleep.

-OoOoOoO-

_ "She doesn't belong here!"_

_ "Well we should remove her then."_

_ "There's nothing we can do, I don't know what that deity was thinking, but if she can do it...it could change things."_

_ "We may have trusted ourselves to her before, but it doesn't mean we can trust ourselves to her or them now."_

_ "...we'll have to wait and see."_

_ "Hush now, she wakes."_

_"Hey there little one,"Chel felt fingers brushing against her forehead, but she couldn't move or open her eyes, "how're you feeling? Is your mind a little dazed?"_

_ "She probably can't speak," another voice chimed in and there the fingers were again, this time on her chest, "she's taken a toll on her body, but she can manage. She's brave."_

_ "Well that's wonderful," a set of hands brushed her biceps, "let's hope she's strong enough to handle everything else ahead and maybe we won't abandon this world...again."_

_ "You must return now little one," the hands left as soon as they came, "you have many things to do. Please, restore our hope."_

-OoOoOoO-

Chel felt her eyes opening, the sound of childlike laughter echoing down below. It was nighttime now, and she was hungry and thirsty beyond belief. The cool air blew against her sticky skin, her eyes plastered on the stars up above. How long had she been out? The laughter reached her ears once again, but she was too tired to move her head, so she looked through the corner of her eye. There on the fringe of darkness, stood some sort of child in what looked like a red straw hat, it's eyes a bright beady red.

"Hello," it was a weak response, but she thought it proper to speak to the thing, "you live here?"

Even though she was high up, the child could hear her clearly, in response, it tilted it's head left and right, watching her intently. _Great, you can watch me die here kid, _sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to let her exhaustion take over. The sound of rustling got her to open her eyes again, turning her head to look this time, she could see the child lightly hopping and waving it's arm to her; it wanted her to follow. _Well, alright. _

"Ugh," swinging her unwounded leg over the branch, she used as much strength to lower herself down to the lower branches, "crap," she hissed as she landed on the wood below, her leg throbbing violently.

Getting down, she reached over the branch and lowered herself once again, the ground a few feet down, "oh man I need a break," letting go, she couldn't hold herself up from the impact, so she landed flat on her stomach, letting out a grunt. Laying there, she just wanted to curl up and sleep away, but the beast was still out there.

Pushing herself up, she limped over to the child, "whoa," just then, she noticed the kid's skin was actually straw like a scarecrow and it's mouth was some sort of beak, "...aren't you different," it tilted it's head once more, "where're we going?"

Turning around, it sped away into the trees, "Alright," limping along, Chel held her satchel down so it wouldn't bump into her wound, "slow down okay," she saw the critter turn around before walking along again, "I really wish you could talk."

Most of the walk was in silence, unless the child laughed to catch her attention and bring her in the right direction. She was grateful for at least having _something _be kind to her, but she couldn't deny the feeling of loneliness in those woods, it was almost unbearable. Usually it didn't bother her, but she was in a world where things were backwards and weird, it was unnerving to think she was all alone in such a large place.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the clearing she came to until the child's laughter caught her ear. Looking up, Chel nearly jumped with joy at the sight of a little creek. The child leaped to the other side as she limped over, dropping to her knees to greedily take in as much water as possible. Taking in scoop after scoop, she quietly thanked the little critter while it tilted it's head, watching her intently. When there was no more room in her stomach, she sat back and unwrapped her wound, scooping up some water and washing out the flesh. Forcing her mouth shut, she nearly tore through her lip trying to stifle her cries.

"Mmmm," removing her other leg warmer, she wrapped it around her thigh and stuffed the other one in her satchel, "okay," sighing heavily, she almost stood up, but the sound of a flute caught her ears, "hmm...would you look at that," on the other side of the creek, the child was playing an uppity tune, "cute," sitting back, Chel couldn't stop smiling at the sound. All ideas of caring were blown out the window, she just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

"Oh," before any sleeping was to happen, she searched through her back and took out her sketchbook and pen, flipping it open to a fresh page, "hmmm," looking at the child, she noticed it was no longer playing and instead, staring at her as if it were a little irritated, "don't mind me, I like your playing, it's beautiful, keep going," as if flustered, it twisted it's foot into the floor and hesitantly looked at her, "go on, it makes me happy."

Surrendering, it pulled the flute to it's mouth again and played, sending Chel back into her state of carelessness, "Hmm," bringing the pen to paper, she sketched out the little scene. The straw hat, the wooden flute, the pointed shoes, the little stump it sat upon, everything, she wanted it to be perfect, "too adorable."

After a while, Chel was too sleepy to notice the child standing right in front of her. She wanted to finish the drawing, wanted it to be perfect, but she was so tired. Her limbs were going numb, her head spinning, she was so lost, everything was beginning to blur. Just then, the tune was cut short and all her energy returned to her, "huh," looking to her right, she saw the kid standing right beside her, "...you like it?"

Jumping back a good few feet, it held it's flute tightly between it's fingers, "you wanna see it," tearing the page out, she beckoned the child closer, "don't worry, if you like it, I'll give it to you. Come on, come look," as if like a lost puppy, the kid slowly crept forward, inching as slowly as possible, "you see, this is you," it's head tilted toward the photo and gasped with excitement, "I drew your little flute and everything," it's shaky little fingers brushed the page with amazement, "...here," taking the page, she folded it up into a square and gently gripped it's hand, placing it there, "you can have it."

Looking from her to the page, the child shook violently while placing the paper under it's hat, "Now...why don't you play that little tune for me again," it's head jerked up to look at her a little surprised, it hesitantly brought the flute to it's beak again, but stopped, slumping it's shoulders in sadness, "what? What's the matter?"

Chel couldn't help but wonder if it felt ashamed or something, "are you oka-hey," feeling it's hand tug her arm, she set her stuff away and followed it out of the clearing, "where are we going now," the child never responded, just kept walking on.

Though she appreciated the guidance, she was having a little trouble following since the critter was as tall as an elementary kid. Holding her arm in front of her face, she blocked away the branches and vines as the child tugged her along, "Are you getting me out?"

The tilt of it's hat let her know she was safe. Climbing over logs, she took it's hand and stuffed it with her sweater so that she had an easier time going along. The trees were getting thinner and fewer in between as they traversed through the endless landscape. Her leg was burning with a passion, she could barely breath normally. Suddenly, a howl sounded in the distance and they both paused to look behind them.

"I think we'd better-," the grip on her sweater vanished and she looked to find nothing but air where the child stood, "no, are you kidding? It tricked me! Fan-freakin-"

Just then, the laughter echoed in her ears to the right. Waiting for a minute, the laughter echoed again, a howl following in the opposite direction, "Please don't be lying," running as best as possible with an injured leg, Chel slapped branches out of her face and pulled vines down to hopefully slow the pursuer down, _Right, I'm sure it has razor sharp claws...typical. _

She had to switch directions at a moments notice, turning sharp rights and cutting corners to try and follow the voice. Her lungs didn't approve, burning with a fiery passion. Her legs were ready to buckle underneath her, but the thumping of paws in the distance made her think otherwise, "legs, don't fail me now," hoisting herself over a fallen tree, she tripped up, slamming hard into the dirt with her face, "Ugggh," the thumping grew closer, so she pushed herself up, limping along as best she could.

The laughter echoed in her ears, pulling her to the left, "alright," as the echoes grew closer and closer, Chel prayed that it was a safe haven, "please, please, please," the thumping was nearly at her back by then, she could practically feel it's breath on her neck, "Oh good god please!"

The feeling of cold wind blasting her in the face made her heart flutter, a large hollow trunk whistled with air up ahead, "Thank you," she wanted to hug and kiss the child, but the little giggle that echoed behind her was enough to understand it's friendship. Rushing for the trunk, she ducked so as to not bump her head, feeling her way through the dark hole. Just then a loud growl sounded from behind her, the sight of bright green eyes leering at her as the hungry maw of the beast hung open – he was determined to get his dinner that time.

"Just give up already," limping along, Chel could see the dim light of the moon on the other side, "c'mon, c'mon, c'moooon," the sound of claws digging into bark sent chills down her spine, wild howls ensuing. Her leg got snagged in a vine, causing her to drop and crawl the rest of the way out.

Feeling the moonlight on the back of her head, she screamed as her foot was almost chomped by the beast, it's green eyes glaring at her as she ran. Turning back around, she was amazed by the sight of a humongous open field, trees sprawled far apart and weird creatures lurking around – strange goats, goblin-like creatures, random floating lanterns, _ghosts?_ If it was enough for her to stand around and gawk, her pursuer made sure to keep her on edge. Turning to see if she was a good enough distance, she felt her life flash before her eyes as the creature pounced for her, knocking her clean off her feet.

"Oh shit," shoving her hands up to the beasts throat, she felt her heart about ready to burst out of her chest, "Get off of me," it's teeth clacked loudly against each other as it shoved against her, trying to chomp her face off. Drool spewed everywhere, filling her nostrils with death. Her energy was beginning to fail her, if she didn't do something soon, her face would be mauled, "Fuck me! Hylia are you watching or what!?"

Just then, a glint caught her eye to the left. Looking over, she could make out her pen nestled in a patch of weeds – it must've fallen out when the beast tackled her. Looking back to the beast, her nose was nearly clipped off by it's canines, she wouldn't be able to do anything in that position. Moving her head to the left, Chel pushed herself up when the wolf lunged forward as she let go and wrapped her arm around the beasts neck, holding it in a choke hold. She was nearly lifted off the ground, but she used all her weight to push it's face into the floor and reach for the pen. It jerked and thrashed about, constantly tugging her up and back.

"Come on," her heart pounded in her ears as she reached, but no matter how hard she tried, her fingers were just short of contact, "UGH," the beast slipped from her grip, so she had to hook her arm underneath it's neck and pull it up before it's teeth could bite into her, "dammit," Chel was pushed back into the position she was in before, "I just need a little bit more," reaching out again, she got an idea.

Releasing her grip on the beasts neck, she pushed it's head to the right. Just as she hoped, the creature shoved against her arm, sliding her over just enough to get hold of her pen, "RRRRAGH," bringing her arm up and down, Chel jammed her pen as deep as possible into the beasts eye, drawing out a violent howl that made her ears pop, but the wild creature refused to stop fighting, "just give up already," pulling the utensil out with a nasty 'squish', she slammed it back in, this time feeling the way the eye split apart, "stop," pulling out again, she felt blood spatter against her face, "please! Stop," crushing her fist into it's face, she wanted to cry as chunks of the eye spilled out onto her, but survival was pushing her to fight, "I'm begging you!"

Just then a loud whizzing noise caught her ear and the beast howled even louder than before, pulling back and thrashing about. Sitting there, Chel watched the creature limp around, trying to pull out what looked like an arrow in it's neck. Blood leaked out of the wound, but the poor thing wouldn't go down. Then another arrow made it's way into the center of the eyes, sending the creature into shock. It stood there for a moment, blood pouring endlessly from it's wounds, a black hole where it's eye used to glow. It fell. Everything went silent.

Trying to process what happened, Chel stared at the corpse, her body shaking violently. Her skin felt numb to the touch and her heart beat rapidly against her chest. Trying to stand up, her legs buckled underneath her and she fell back down, eyes still glued to the dead animal. It looked as though it were sleeping peacefully, but she knew that wasn't true. She hadn't noticed the ringing in her ears until all the sound around her began flooding them – crickets singing in the distance, frogs croaking loudly. It was too peaceful to ensue something so gruesome. It began to rain.

"Oi," the clattering of wood caught her attention, but Chel didn't move, she was still processing things, "...Oi," something jabbed her in the side and she looked over to find spears pointing her in the face. Looking up, she spotted a group of armored men standing before her, lanterns glowing ominously on their belts. Humans. Smiling weakly, she felt her body collapse to the floor, all the pain and exhaustion of the day's events sucking her back into unconsciousness.

* * *

So, here you are. The first taste of Hyrulian life for little Chel. Such excitement! Anyway, I hope I haven't kept you guys waiting terribly too long, but I am getting sucked into commissions and such. Also, I've got some strange health issues that have been going on for a few months, so I tend to try and stay away from everything when I'm feeling at my absolute worst. Anyway, enough with sad talk. I hope you enjoyed the read and if you did, let me know if U Liek (or if you don't) leave a review, favorite or send me a message on Tumblr. Either way, I appreciate the feedback.


	5. Jail Cell or Barrier?

Jail Cell or Barrier?

Sounds. It was all Chel could understand from inside her daze – clanking, creaking, splashing. The men she never spoke to, consistently appeared in that state, glaring down at her and leaving. The soft touch of silk and wet rags against her skin, it was faint but still there. She'd fallen in and out, finding herself in some sort of sleep purgatory – never dreaming, just staring into complete and total darkness. Why hadn't Hylia or the other deities contacted her? Maybe she was so far gone that she was practically on the brink of death.

There was no telling of how much time had past since the day she had lost consciousness, where she'd gone, what had happened, nothing was on record in her mind. Just that one day, she was brought back from the land of sleep.

"Mmmm," her eyes slowly cracked open, the light of a lantern reddening her vision, "ugh," turning her head, Chel noticed a woman sitting on the floor beside her, dressed in dark purples and whites – she was messing around with her leg, "what are you doing?"

There was no response, just the cool sensation of something gelatinous rubbing against her wound. Expecting something deathly painful, Chel tensed, ready for impact, but it was only a dull ache. Looking back down, she noticed that the wound was closed up, still swollen and red but almost fully healed. How long had she been out? Trying to take a deep breath, she felt a tightness around her belly. Looking down, she noticed that, aside from her bra and underwear, she was completely naked. Bandages were wrapped all around her, her hands, arms and legs.

"Where are my clothes," trying to get the woman to respond, Chel watched her peel what looked like small herbal leaves from her face and replace them with new ones, a minty scent filling her nose, "hmm," though seemingly cold, the woman was quite gentle with her.

Trying to clear her throat, she felt it rake violently against her will. It was completely dry, practically shut tight. The woman turned and pulled up a small wooden cup, touching it to her lips. Willingly, she drank the cool crisp water, immediately finding relief, "thank you."

Once the woman was all done, she placed a loaf of bread in her lap before gathering her things and turning to leave, "Oh," Chel had just noticed the jail cell that she was in, the creaking and locking of the door letting her know, she wasn't going anywhere for quite a while. Carefully sitting up, she took up the bread and slowly nibbled on it. Though she hadn't eaten since she arrived, she couldn't find herself desiring to eat. Her stomach didn't gnaw at her, it seemed just as upset as her mood.

Sitting there, her mind flashed back to the wolf. She could vividly remember the way her fist felt against it's eye, the tearing of it's surface, the blood spattering against her – it made her nauseous. Forcing the thoughts away, Chel looked around the room – small, stony and empty, save for a bucket and the bed she slept on, which seemed a little too high quality for a jail cell. She could hear the sound of metal clacking together and footsteps echoing through the walls. _Where am I?_

There was no reason thinking on it, she had no place to go, though she was locked up, she was safe from any wild animals. Finishing up probably a third of the bread, Chel set it aside and laid back down. Her satchel was gone, probably in their custody – of course she didn't like the thought of her drawings being out of reach, but she couldn't do anything about it at that moment. She was still drained from the other day, so she decided to just go back to sleep. Laying down, she stared at the ceiling, _Tim, Aldez...please be okay. _Turning on her side, her eyes slowly shut in hopes of getting her energy back.

-OoOoOoO-

"Huh," Chel's eyes shot opened to the sound of her jail cell creaking open, "geez," sitting herself up, she acknowledged the woman that stood at the door – she was dressed in the same colors as the woman before, but her hair was black, "you cut my dream off," she joked, "at least, I think I was."

During her sleep, she caught flickers of voices, like a flash light that was beginning to die. The voices seemed frantic, sounding as though they were trying to contact her but failing. There were flashes of light and the field she met the deities on, but it vanished as quickly as it came, shutting her back into darkness.

Shaking the thought away, Chel turned to the woman at the door, "is there something you need," looking to her hands, she noticed her boots and clothes in them, "oh, guess I'm getting dressed," the woman set them beside the bed, "okay let me get up," swinging her legs over, she pushed herself, her legs buckling beneath her, "whoa," in an instant, she was held up in the woman's hands, so she kept her arms firm on her waist, "...thank you," resting her head on the woman's shoulder, Chel tried to get the feel of her legs, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Just then, the woman propped her arm over her shoulder and turned toward the jail cell, gathering her clothes in the other arm, "Where are we going," still no response. What was with them? Did they not know how to speak? As they left the confinement of the room, Chel looked around, there were cells lined up one after another down the large hall. The stone floor was stained in areas with blood and hay was scattered all around. She was positive that the bed she had was a bonus, seeing as to how every other cell had hay beds.

"Hmm," the only thing that bothered her was that there was not a living soul in any of the cells, "...like everyone's dead," looking down to the floor, she tried to stop the sickening feeling that rose in her stomach. She felt a pang of fear finally come over her the first time – was she really capable of killing in order to live? Of course, she knew she could beat someone into submission or put them in the hospital, but killing was a completely different issue. _I wouldn't...but you have to survive. _

Shrugging the issue off, Chel found herself passing through an old wooden door and heading up a spiraling stone staircase. The lanterns were the only thing that lit their way, she took the time to count them on the way up. It took probably five minutes all because her legs weren't working properly, so she kept falling over or getting bandages snagged in the steps. Once they reached the top, she had to squint to keep the light from hurting her eyes.

"Talk about blinding," grunting at the ache of her leg, Chel gasped in astonishment, "is that," there stood a giant white castle with pointed tops, much like the ones you'd see in fairy tales. They were crossing the courtyard where men marched or stood watch. Bushes and exotic trees lined up in the grass nearly took her breath away; all of it was completely stunning.

Her gawking was cut short when they had gone into another wooden door on the opposite side of the court, though that time, the room was brightly lit by stained glass windows that absorbed the light and cast down reds, blues and many colors she couldn't describe. The room was large with a wide creek that flowed through the center and bubbled loudly. Chel watched the water run while the woman set her down on one of the large wooden benches inside the room.

"Miss," feeling the woman pull at the wraps around her stomach, she felt a little overwhelmed with the babying, "I can unwrap myself," of course, she didn't listen and continued to unwrap her, "...okay," it wasn't the idea of being seen naked or touched by a woman – Chel had gotten used to that when she was constantly pampered by her parent's maids when they took their business trips to Japan and she was left at the estate all alone. She liked the women there, they taught her a lot of things, including a fairly qualifying amount of Japanese – it was an enjoyable time being around them; most the time it would end up with them basically not doing their job since she loved their company so much.

Chel was stripped down to her bra and underwear, that's when she grabbed the woman's hands to stop her, "I got this," removing her undergarments, she stared down at her body – bruises littered her skin everywhere, though recovering, they always looked even worse as time went by. Standing up, she felt the woman grab her waist, guiding her over to the tub and helping her sit at one of the bottom rocks, enough to hide her chest. Just then, she noticed large blossoms swirling around the edges, giving off a sweet fragrance.

"Oh my," the water was warm, a little surprising to her since it was a freshwater source. There must've been some sort of heating system in the room that she failed to spot, "whoa," water poured over her head and she was pulled back to stare up at the ceiling, "Ma'am, I can wash myself," in response, the woman took her hands and placed a jar that contained a blue liquid in her hand, "...thanks."

Watching the woman get up and seat herself back at the benches, Chel stared at the jar, "hmm," sniffing it, she was nearly knocked off her feet by the powerful scent of cinnamon and blue berries, "holy crap," pulling it back, she gagged for a second before pouring some into her hand, "here goes," rubbing it all over her body, she instantly felt relief all over her body, "oh my," taking some more, she flipped her hair over and scrubbed it all over.

Setting the jar aside, she dunked herself into the water, the warmth encasing her. Swirling around in the creek, she about let the current drag her away. Resurfacing, Chel frowned when she spotted the woman at the edge of the water with towels in hand. _Five more minutes please, _she thought as she made way for the edge. Pushing herself, she found her legs completely mobile again, though her wound still ached, it was improving.

"Thank you," she sighed in exasperation when the woman rubbed her down and dragged her over to the bench to comb out her hair, "I swear, did they seriously order you to baby me, no need to answer," of course, Chel knew she wouldn't get a response, "...hmm."

After her hair was finished, the woman tended to her wounds and re-wrapped her everywhere – the cuts on her face were seemingly healed so there were no more leaves needed. Standing up, Chel looked around for her bra and underwear, but they were nowhere in sight, "uhhh," just then, the woman handed her a pair of black undergarments – the 'bra' being a corset, "ooookaaay?"

Getting the underwear on was a snap, though it was excessively itchy for her taste, it was like a lace thong. The real problem, was the corset, so Chel let the woman put it on her since she seemed to obsess over dressing her. Feeling the string tighten in the back, she gasped for air, trying to loosen the death grip, but failed miserably. Instead of dressing herself, she allowed the woman to do everything seeing as to how she couldn't bend over to save her life.

"Okay, umm," trying to pull the thing away from her stomach, Chel looked at the woman, "I'm ready, I guess," since she could walk properly, save for a limp, the woman took the lead, Chel having to lightly jog to keep up, "how 'bout I mess up my legs again, would you slow down then," back in the court yard, the woman brought her toward the castle itself, "...just, wow."

Standing before the large double doors, the castle seemed a lot more colossal standing right up against it. Two guards stood on either side, spears in hand and alert. The only strange thing from the whole issue was how vacant they looked. Chel shrugged the matter off, following the woman to the steps. As if on cue, the doors slowly creaked open, blasting her hair in every direction with cool air.

"...wooow," immediately inside stood a giant ball room of a main hall, an array of gray-scale tiles covering the floor, "this is impressive. As they moved along, she counted the multitude of marble columns that lined either side of them, doors that led to who knows where, lining the walls.

Taking a sharp right, they headed down a hall that had knightly statues with giant spears hanging from their hands, "now this is just...excessive," hundreds of doors seemed to line every hallway that they came across, but at the end of that one, stood another pair of double doors where the scent of roasted chicken slapped her in the face, "oh, uhh, I'm not really hungry," Chel stopped in her tracks when the woman open the doors, but then froze, "something wrong?"

"Oi," turning around, a soldier stormed past her and over to the woman, whispering something to her before turning towards her and pointing his spear back down the hall.

"Wha-hey," the woman nudged her along, rushing her back down the hall, "what's the matter? Did I do something wro-" her eyes caught sight of a man – his white hair groomed back with a golden crown around his head and a red cape draped over his shoulders, face set in a permanent scowl, "...a king," she couldn't tell that well, but it looked as though he were watching her.

Before she could say anything, Chel was jerked and pulled down the main hall, "I'm coming, calm down, alright," as they exited the main building, she was dragged across the court and back towards the jail house, "why are you putting me back in here," no response, "I'm tired of you not responding," heading back down the stony hall, she was nudged back into the cell and the door was shut behind, leaving Chel in darkness, "...I'll just wait here then," heading over to her bed, she plopped down on it, staring at the wall.

-OoOoOoO-

It had been a long while since Chel had left that cell again. Assuming that when the servant woman came by with a loaf of bread, it was about two days. Dreams never seemed to come, just total darkness. There was no one who contacted her. Curled up in her blankets, she stared at the ceiling, completely devoid of hunger even though she hadn't eaten at all too well since she'd arrived. Not once had she finished her loaves, she just set them aside for the mice to get to them that were in and out of her cell at all hours of the day.

"I don't have anything buddy," she'd grown accustomed to them crawling on her and sitting on her, so she spent her time holding one-sided conversations with them, "you guys polished it off already," it sniffed around her as if searching for something, but then sat up and stared at her, "I know right? It sucks being down here, you never know what's going on outside," the sound of the main door swinging open and soldier footsteps sent the mouse scuttling off, "Oh? Something different this time."

"**Let me be! I haven't done anything wrong**_,_" from what she was hearing, it was Japanese. Sitting up, she watched as two soldiers stopped in front of her cell a woman as caramel-skinned as her, with white hair trying to fight against them, "**release me! By the Goddesses I beg of you**," the woman turned to look at her, but the strange thing was how fierce her gaze was. _Miss Apim? _No, the woman seemed the same but completely different as well, the pointy ears being one of the main distinctions. She was dressed in brown rags, her muscles slightly flexing.

"**Do you know her**," the second voice that demanded her attention surprised Chel, "**do you**," looking over, she realized that one of the soldiers were speaking to her, "**do you know her?**"

She didn't understand why that was important, but it wasn't going to get her anywhere by not responding, "uhh," though she understood Japanese well, it had been a while since she had to use it, "**n-no, don't**," she skipped over some words, "I mean **no, I do not**," watching the woman fight against them, she was a little excited to have her put in her cell. Unfortunately, they dragged her over one more cell before tossing her into it.

"**Let me out! I demand to speak to the king! Free me**," the woman's screams sounded frantic and it made Chel's heart pound. Sighing heavily, she watched the guards leave, marching off in unison.

"There's no point in screaming," whispering to herself, she waited for the sound of the door to slam shut and the woman's screams slowly subsided, "...it makes no difference."

"**Are you alright?**"

The question didn't catch her right away, but when a tap on the other side of the wall clicked at her ear, she turned her head to listen, "**what you say?"**

** "I said, are you alright," **the woman's voice was low and calm, "**I was sent here. Just be patient, you'll be rescued."**

** "What...what do you **uhh **mean," **there came no response, but Chel wasn't done talking, "**what are you talking about?"**

The silence of the air was the only response, so she sat back. _Rescued? I'm perfectly safe here. _Laying down, she stared at the stone wall, in utter confusion. _Who's coming to 'rescue' me? Who sent her here? _The questions swarmed her head, apparently someone knew about her and they were making plans to retrieve her.

-OoOoOoO-

"**They're coming**," Chel was pulled out of her daze by the woman's voice, "**be ready**."

It had been a day since the woman arrived and not once had they exchanged words. Sitting up, she could hear the wooden door opening up. Her cell opened up, the usual woman coming in to check up on her, it was the first time she visited a second time in one day. Each day, the lady would clean her bandages and retie her corset. As painful as the thing was, Chel couldn't really deny the article, but she was becoming sickly with her eating disorder over the past few days – she had to have dropped a substantial amount of weight which made her feel fatigued and horrendously ill.

"Where am I going this time," stepping out of the cell, her arm was snatched up by the woman in the other cell, "huh?"

"**Ganon**," the name perplexed her, it sounded familiar but she'd never heard it before.

"What?" without another word, the woman turned away and vanished behind her cell, "wait, I don't," her arm was tugged, so she bit her tongue and followed. _What does that even mean?_

As usual, Chel was taken out and into the courtyard, the only difference was that the sun was beginning to set instead of rise. Everything was bathed in gold, giving the place a certain kind of life that wasn't there. As they approached the castle, she noticed that there were no guards that time as they entered the large double doors. _What a twist. _

"Whoa," was the only thing she could process out of her mouth at the scene; the main hall looked beautiful from the way the stained glass glowed with light, dressing the floor and walls with the colors of the rainbow – it was like a crystal cave. Her arm was tugged again, with less force, but she still didn't like the way she was being treated by the woman.

"Well...what made you change your attitude with me anyway," frowning, she noticed that they were headed down the hall with the giant knightly armor sets standing on either side of the walk way, "...I'm really...really not hungry," but of course, the woman made no response to her objections.

Reaching the doors, the woman pulled them apart, the same scent as before reaching her once again, except, it just made her stomach flip around in protest. Entering, Chel found herself a lot more interested in the atmosphere rather than the rich scent of food. Much like the hallway, the room was painted in radiant lights from the stained glass, a table that probably sat fifty or sixty people with extra elbow space was rested in the center of the room. A giant hearth sat to the left, logs set and ready for lighting, but it seemed as though the thing hadn't been lit in ages. _Weird. _

She found herself being sat at the end of the table, a napkin being laid in her lap and a slab of steaming meat covered in some strange green sauce being laid out before her, a small salad decorating the plate. _These people sure like their meat_, leaning back in the seat as every single living being left the room, Chel stared at the plate, "I'm really...not hungry."

The sound of armor echoing behind the door let her know that she was being kept in there for a good reason, at least it seemed that way, "I eat the bread every morning...half, that should be good enough right," staring at the plate more intently, she frowned at the way her stomach flipped, "...I can't," pulling away the salad at the bottom, she slowly chewed on that, looking around the room. There wasn't really anything in there to give an explanation on who's castle the place was, _there's usually a painting hanging above the hearth in these places right_, but there was nothing, all the walls were bare, save for the dark purple curtains that were tied up along them.

Getting up from the chair, she set the napkin down and moved along the room, listening to her boots echo off the walls. It was a spacious room, it took her probably five minutes to get around it's perimeter. Running her fingers along the curtains closes to the door, Chel decided to play a guessing game, "Felt? Maybe suede? Definitely not silk, it's too thick. How did they even get them up? How old is it? Maybe ninety a hundred years old. The colors been faded, not too much though," patting the fabric, dust exploded in her face, drowning her lungs, "good lord," nearly hacking up a lung, she walked away from it, getting as much of the dust off of her, "they obviously don't take care of the damn place."

Chel pushed the plate of meat to the side, taking up the last of the salad and nibbling away, unable to find anymore room for anything else, "geez and they had to give me whine...seriously," pushing the red liquid away, "I'd like to go back to prison now," Chel turned her head away, "someone'll get me," adjusting herself, she slouched into the cushioning of the chair, "...they'll get me."

Staring across the table, she rested her cheek against her hand, "...thou art mine guest Chel...heheh Shakespeare," eyelids feeling heavy, she found herself drifting off, her stomach straining against the corset under her sweater, "ugh, damn death trap," leaning back, she crossed her arms, resting her head, "a terrible host is what he is," eyes feeling heavy, she fought the urge to fall asleep, but succumbed to the idea anyway.

"**Well are you alive**," slowly opening her eyes, Chel saw that the room was illuminated by the hearth's fire. It was dark, casting an aged look on the entire room, _guess I slept a while, _"**good, you're not dead**."

Turning her head, her heart jumped to her throat at the sight of the king squatting beside her, a smile interrupting his permanent scowl, "oh uhh **yeah, am living**," trying to wrack her head for the right words, she had to pause for a moment; although he was aged, he looked handsome, but the eyes, "...empty," they looked vacant, practically empty of all life. Seeing as to how, he frowned a little, she cleared her throat, "**sorry..talking to me**," the warm smile returned, making her feel a little bit more comfortable.

**"Well alright then," **standing to his full height, he looked at the plate of meat on the table, "**I see you haven't touched your food...don't like meat?"**

Watching him head to the opposite side of the table, Chel felt her abdomen scream in protest as she tried to sit correctly, the corset biting her sides, "**no appetite**," adjusting herself in the seat, she had to squint a little to view him through the darkness, "**do you speak English by any chance?"**

** "English?"**

"**Like, **'Hi how are you? Are you enjoying this day?'...English," the confusion on his face was making her feel a little idiotic, but the laughter that bellowed from somewhere inside him scared made her skin crawl a little.

"Yes," setting a napkin in his lap, he took his knife and began cutting into his own food, "I speak 'English'...not well," the slice of meat was practically sucked into his mouth, leaving no trace of juice on his gray goatee, "...I understand you good."

"Oh, that's a relief," sighing to herself, Chel rubbed her hands against her abdomen to stop the ache above her navel, "I'm glad I can communicate with someone," looking at the hearth, she nearly forgot herself, "Oh uhhh, my name is Chel," _sound like a total dweeb? Check_, "I hadn't met you until now."

"Lovely name," taking a sip of his wine, he adjusted himself in the chair, "I began to worry...you being out seven days in a bad coma," _Seven days? _If she added up correctly, Chel had been there for ten days, "I'm glad I could meet today. I have been dealing with quarrels in the fields, being so busy," his grammar was decent, "was beginning to think I never make home. Never speak with you..tell me," adjusting himself in his seat, the man swirled his wine around before sighing, "where you from?"

"Oh, well that's pretty hard to explain," scratching her head, she groaned at the ache in her abdomen, the growing desire to just tear the corset into pieces was gnawing at her, "far far away, uhh, a very different land."

"Why come here?"

"Well...it wasn't exactly a choice," pressure grew in the back of her head, the all too familiar feeling of a headache, "I was sort of forced to."

"Forced?...slave driver?"

"Uhh no, not exactly," there it was again, a powerful wrench to the back of her head, _why now, "_someone," for some reason she felt it a good idea not to tell him who exactly, "told me it was...it was uhh," _who was it exactly?_

Rubbing her temples, she tried to ignore the pain pushing to her forehead, "...a...a uhhh, ummm..a s-s..sor-ugh," squeezing her eyes shut, her head was beginning to split in half, "oh my goodness, I'm sorry, it was a-"

**"Sir," **a soldier came barging in, interrupting their conversation and lightening her headache as they marched across the room. Leaning down to whisper in his master's ear, they both turned to look at her for a moment.

**"Understood...go," **waving the soldier away, he removed the napkin from his lap before rubbing the bridge of his nose, as the armored man stopped beside Chel, "must apologize...I ask for patience from you, be fitting to stay in cell. Preparations for a legitimate room are undergoing. I must attend serious matter, he'll escort," motioning his head to the man, he gave her a reassuring smile, "for protection...understand please."

"Oh...umm of course," she wasn't sure on how to respond, the man had a strange aura around him, "I could try and – whoa," the king has approached, planting a very rigid and cold kiss on the back of her hand, sending an extremely weird vibe through her, "I mean uhh of course your honor," snatching her arm away as quickly as she could without showing her uncomfortableness, she gave a slight bow.

"Good, please...get well sleep," turning, he headed through a pair of doors on the opposite side of the room, leaving her with the soldier. It was a short-lived conversation, and there was little interactions, no questions were answered and she was already being put back in her cell. There was no reason fighting it, _if it's for safety then it's for safety I guess._

Turning to the soldier, she stuck out her arm, "**lead the way.**"

After taking the walk back, Chel felt her heart race as the woman she shared the room with was dragged out of her cell in shackles, "**let go of me,**" she fought the soldier, he was big and burly, but completely covered in armor – an axe was strapped to his back, "**I don't deserve this. I did nothing wrong**," as they made eye contact, the woman narrowed her gaze – red eyes blazing as if trying to prove to her what was really going on in the place, "**this is what they do to you**," with inhumane speed, the soldier laid a punch right into the woman's gut; though it looked like it hurt, the woman's response was a small grunt before seizing her struggle.

"**What...what are you doing!?**" Chel felt her arm be yanked back so she wouldn't interfere. As the beastlike-armored freak yanked the woman, she grew irritated, "**stop it. She doesn't deserve this treatment.**"

"Shh," their eyes made contact, "**makes no difference**," as she was dragged along, she leaned sideways to Chel, lips practically brushing her ear, "**we'll be saving you soon,**" and just like that, she was dragged out of the jailhouse.

"**What...are you doing with her**," struggling with her words, she gained no response from the soldier as he gently nudged her into her cell, "**what are you doing with her!?**"

The silence after the slamming door left her a little shaken by the scene. She reached into her sweater and untied her corset, letting it slide off – instantly, her abdomen felt better. _What are they gonna do to her? She's a prisoner, a legitimate prisoner? Or something like me maybe? They wouldn't kill her, the king...he wouldn't. _Laying down on her bed, she curled into herself, _what's he gonna do with me? What does he want with me? No, I'm just an injured person...who dresses in very different clothes...and comes from a far away land. He's just trying to help me, _feeling her eyes grows heavy, she rested them, allowing sleep to ease her emotions, _yeah that's it...trying to help me...I hope._

* * *

So...what you think? If you like what you're reading, then please, favorite, leave a review, let me know on Tumblr or give your two cents. Either way, I appreciate the comments. Hope U Liek, and I will update as soon as possible.


	6. Lights On

Lights On

Chel scraped her fingers across the brick wall beside her bed. She hadn't learned any news of the woman that was taken out the night before. Although they were nothing acquainted, she couldn't help but pray vivaciously for her safety. She had been treated so kindly – at least it seemed that way – and yet a random woman who, quite frankly, didn't seem guilty of anything, was being punished or at least it seemed so.

Chel continued to hold herself, her nails scratching away little stray pebbles, "Maybe...maybe she _was _guilty of something," curling her knees up, she hissed and slid them back down; although the corset held her breasts firm – and emphasized – it also dressed her abdomen with internal bruising. Straightening herself out, she gave the article on the floor a nasty look, "...I hate you."

Though she hadn't any interest in checking herself over, Chel was still apprehensive about removing the bandages on her hands. For some reason the wounds there were taking quite a while to heal, her leg seemed to come along quite well – of course since all she'd been doing was limping all over the place. _I wanna go home, _pressing her face into the bed, she felt a powerful wave of nausea come over her, _it's been almost two weeks_, she had fallen into a pit of depression that morning and it was becoming harder to climb out of the more she was kept in that tiny cage.

"I..I want," biting her lip, anger slowly overcame Chel, "you freakin idiot...none of this would've happened if...if," punching the wall, she felt her knuckles crack underneath the brick, eliciting a screech from her throat, "shyza, fudge, dammit mother FFFFUuuuuu-" sitting up, she shoved her wrist between her legs, trying to blot out the pain, but the more she moved, the more it hurt, "I didn't...me and my dumb freakin self," shaking her head, she did her best to keep from moving her wrist, "idiot...idiot, you freakin idiot," the sound of her cell door opening, caught her attention, "oh hi there," to her surprise, a servant came by, her hair was a dirty blonde and short, "you know, funny thing is-ARGH!"

The woman had sat beside her and pulled her arm towards her, "Yeah, I think I popped something out of pl-what are you doing," the woman had one hand around her wrist, another holding her four fingers, "oh geez," biting into her shoulder, Chel squeezed her eyes shut as a loud pop resounded around the room, a seering pain enthralling her whole forearm, "Oh shit-Whoo! O my, FFF-fudge monkey," letting the woman re-wrap the area, she was happy that most the pain was done with, "thank you...thank you," taking deep breaths, she allowed the woman to take her out of the room, "bath time I guess? Perfect timing."

-OoOoOoO-

"I really don't think I can do this to-hurgh-day," heaving a sigh, Chel winced at the tightening of her corset, "I swear, my bones are screaming," watching the woman set her down on the bench, she allowed her to dress her up in a black skirt since her sweater was being cleaned – or so she thought, "I hope this is the last time I have to wear this," groaning, she felt the ache in her sides as she stood up, "so...what's it for this time?"

"This time for dinner," jumping, she turned around to find the King standing at the bath's entrance, "seem paler...lighter, you must eat," as he approached her, only then, did Chel realize how much taller he was compared to her, "wish to converse tonight...no interruptions," with a wink, he turned on his heel and walked away, "do indulge, can't have you ill."

With that, she was left in silence, save for her sitter and the servants who walked in crowding her, "**what's going on**," trying to get an answer from them, she felt a hand on her head, "whoa," her chin was brought up, "**what are you doing**," the sound of beads could be heard behind her as she tried to stop a woman from touching her face. _Makeover? Fan-freakin-tastic_, "**I really don't want this...please**," but of course, there was no response, "...I'm not a freakin doll," whining to herself, she waited for the punishment to begin.

After many hours of torturous prodding, picking and brushing, Chel felt the women step back. Opening her eyes, she sighed, "**Are we done now?**"

The women continued to just stare at her, so she just crossed her arms and legs, waiting for the scrutiny to be finished, "whatever...," sighing heavily, she felt herself get tugged up to her feet, "What now," groaning to herself, she let her designated servant drag her out of the room and toward the castle, "Oh yeah...dinner."

As they entered the dining room, Chel spotted the king sitting at the end of the table again, plates of food set out before him, "ah yes," standing up, he pulled the chair out that was beside his, "please...sit," although uncomfortable, she obliged and he pushed her in, "look lovely, everything is beautiful."

"Uhh thanks, I think," she hadn't seen herself ever since she arrived in Hyrule, so it was speculation judgment for her, "I don't...uhh no, thank you sir." She only knew what she wore – a dark-purple tube top to cover the corset and the skirt so her underwear wouldn't show. She didn't have anything of her possession on hand, her feet were laced with gladiator sandals, the only thing that she found interesting.

"Please," he chuckled, it seemed somewhat strange of a laughter, "don't thank," sliding a plate over to her, he smiled, it was much whiter than she would've expected, "eat, can't have you starve."

"Oh..hmmm," there was no appetite remotely close to growing inside of Chel, so she really didn't want to eat, "I'm turning into a freakin runway model," sighing, she decided not to disrespect him, "okay, thank you for the food," adjusting herself in her seat, she mentally willed her stomach not to fight with her.

The king watched her intently, making her feel even more awkward, "hmm," staring at the bowl in front of her, she noticed the chunks of meat that floated around in the substance – to her it looked like a soupy kind of chili, the chopped vegetables and fruit on a plate beside it, "okay," picking up the spoon, she managed to get a spoonful in her mouth.

"Hurgh," her esophagus twitched as the food went down, causing her to focus her attention on not spewing bile everywhere, "uhh..okay," her stomach clenched violently, but she continued to take spoonful after spoonful, "what exactly is this."

"Fresh cut meat...don't like," the disappointment on his face caught her attention, "I apologize-"

"Oh no no, that's not it," smiling a little, she rested her hands around her stomach to try and ease the muscles, "I was just curious is all," sighing, she fiddled with her fingers, "you...I never really got to thank you for saving my life," just then her stomach clenched intensely, "...I don't think I could've kept sta-" choking up, Chel didn't want to talk anymore, "thank you sir."

"I'm curious," she could feel his eyes on her, it burned holes through her, "why..out and about so late," he smirked a little, it irked her nerves, "...especially in woods?"

"Well," though he seemed kind enough, something was telling her to gauge how much she should disclose to him, "I woke up there...I guess I was kidnapped in the middle of the night," it actually wasn't really a lie at all, she was uprooted from her home and left to fend in a world she had no clue about, "I really have no idea where I was...I spent the day trying to find my way out, that's when the monster attacked me," rubbing her fingers against her thigh, she could feel the bumpiness of the injury, "...anyway, this kid, some kind of scarecrow, helped me," frowning, she prayed for the child's safety, "he showed me the way out."

"Hmm," Chel could hear the sound of his chewing, the clinking of his spoon, the clacking of his rings – his presence bothered her, it invaded her personal bubble, like he was some kind of leech, but she couldn't figure out why; he was kind enough, "where you from?"

"I'm from," trying to figure out a way to make it sound more sensible, she furrowed her brows, "I'm from far away, at least I think I am, I lived in an isolated place really, there wasn't much contact from the outside world," looking at him, her skin crawled at the way his eyes watched her, "...what is it?"

"Oh...nothing," standing up, he set his dishes aside and moved off toward an area where the hearth's light didn't reach, "apologies if uncomfortable, I get a lot," suddenly, Chel felt guilty, so she went back to eating her bowl of mystery meat, willing herself not to throw up.

Once her body completely refused to take in anymore of the stuff, she turned to munching off the plate of mystery fruits and veggies, surprisingly, it helped calm her stomach significantly, "You...interest me," listening to him speak, she noticed the extreme tightness around her waste as it constricted her breathing, _maybe eating wasn't a good idea, _"never met like you."

"I'm sure you haven't," rubbing her sides, she pushed the rest of her food away as the king reappeared, "hey...my bag," he had it's strap between his fingers, gently laying it out on the table, "...are my things-"

"In there? Yes," smiling, he stepped over to her, "you have...strange things, Chel," the deepness in his tone left her feeling a little ill, "never seen something," he held her button to the neighborhood gate in his hand, "like such," setting the thing on the table, Chel was getting the feeling that she was in great trouble, "it's...different," the frown in his face made her want to cower – though he made her uncomfortable, she owed him her life, he saved her and she was keeping things from him, "why do you hide," his interrogation felt nothing like when her parents would do it, it seemed more sinister and goal oriented.

"I'm not hiding anything," she felt the need to defend herself still, "I told you, I was kidnapped to this place-"

"**And awakened in the Lost Woods,**" the language slipped from the man's lips, the scowl on his face was deeper than ever, "**a forest where escape is impossible for anyone without a fairy**," his shoulders relaxed as he heaved a sigh, "I apologize, but you hide-"

"I don't know what you think I'm hiding," now Chel was feeling a bit confused, "to be honest, I don't really understand what's going on myself," frowning, she fiddled with the bandages on her hands, "I was taken from my home...my family, and things were finally starting to turn around, and now I'm trapped here, because of stupid dark magic."

Just then, the king muttered under his breath, but she couldn't quite understand what exactly he said, "Excuse me," her skin crawled at the way his eyes roamed over her, "what did you say?"

"I said, apologies, understand well," he sighed, "you seem uncomfortable...frustrated," a handsome smile crossed his lips, "maybe...could make you feel," he stepped closer, hand gently planting on her shoulder, "better," he rubbed his other hand over her balled ones, sending a shockwave up her spine that locked her senses – he was leaned over her side, trapping her in the seat, "if you like."

"Uhh, y-uhh," Chel's vision narrowed, it felt as though someone was grabbing the workings of her mind and gearing them in the wrong direction, "I..I don't-"

She could feel his breath on her neck, her body responding with such sensitivity, it was almost painful. An empty heat gathered at the pit of her stomach as if forcing itself there, filling her with confusion. She had no attraction to the man, yet her body yearned for his touch – her mind on the other hand wanted nothing to do with it. Trying hard to keep herself leveled, she felt another gnawing feeling at the back of her head and her vision grew darker, _What's going on? _All signs, shouted, "DANGER," yet Chel felt herself growing less and less aware of herself, as if she were being forced into the back seat and letting someone else drive her systems. She didn't even notice his hand rubbing against the nape of her neck.

"Hurgh...uhh, yo-uhh," fighting as hard as possible, she felt her body grow hotter by the second, a little too hot for comfort, "can we douse the hearth?"

Just then, she felt the cold, sticky, softness of his lips on her, causing her breath to hitch and shakily release, "you react nice...must be _normal_," _what's he talking about,_ the hand that was pressing against hers gently separated them and began to pull at the fringe of her skirt as he brought his lips to her ear, "**may I please you...Chel**," though his voice was lovely, Chel didn't want him touching her; it was terribly painful and she felt beyond uncomfortable with how she was stuck on autopilot – she was turning into a rag doll. Feeling his hand slowly rub up her thigh, she wanted to cry from the heating ache that filled her body. Her head was pounding viciously.

"BANG!"

The king paused in his actions as a soldier came marching in, blade drawn, "**My King**," Chel could feel his hands pull away and her body return to her possession, _what the hell happened?_

_ "_**What is it**," he sounded frustrated, but the soldier was as calm as ever, "**I asked specifically for no interruptions.**"

"**Apologies my king, but we have an issue in the courtyard...rebels**," Chel noticed how the man went cold and a shadow of darkness veiled his eyes, for a split second, she didn't see the king she knew – he looked older, and ironically, it reminded her of Jess, but the hallucination past faster than she could've processed and he was himself again.

"Please stay put," bowing toward her, she was unbelievably amazed how a king would do that, _boy do I have things to tell Tim and Aldez when I get home, _"will return after I fix problem, for now, wait," a frown crossed over his face before he turned to leave.

Once she was left alone, Chel immediately let out a deep breath. It was starting to become the usual long nights she'd been having. Trying her best, she rested her head on the table, but instantly jerked back, remembering the unbearable tightness of the corset, "Uggggh," leaning back in the seat, she stared at the lights that danced around on the wall, "what," touching the spot on her neck that he kissed, she felt the nausea overcome her, "I don't want this," were the words she wanted to say to him, but for some reason it wouldn't come out. _Why is my body acting so WEIRD!? _

Sighing heavily, Chel shrugged the matter off, knowing full well that in that world, answers were nowhere to be found. She could hear the sound of soldiers footsteps clacking against the stone floor as they rushed about somewhere out in the halls. _I wonder what's going on? Probably another issue in the fields_, "hmm-oh," remembering herself, she snatched up her satchel that rested on the table.

Flipping the flap open, she dug around in hopes of finding what she wanted, "please, please, please," shoving the ancient leather book aside, she pulled out her sketchbook and showered it with love, "oh thank goodness you're okay," relaxing quite a bit, she began flipping through the pages, relief instantly cradling her as the pages appeared to be unscathed in her absence.

"Hmmm," adjusting herself, Chel held the book close, the faint scent of home filling her nose, "...I miss it," she realized how exhausted she actually was from the constant struggle through the day, "I want my bean bag," sighing heavily, she sunk deeper into the chair, a depression overcoming her. _This sucks, I have things to do, places to go and I'm stuck here. I hope they haven't fired me from tutoring yet – how am I supposed to be ready for college? Graduation is literally around the corner._

"UGGGGH," groaning aloud, she felt a pinch at her sides, "screw you stupid death trap," flipping off her undergarment, she took the time to reclaim her air, "I need to get out of this thing," unfortunately for her, the maid tightened her corset more and more everyday since she'd been dropping so much weight – eating the food made it nearly impossible to even function correctly for her, "please hurry up and get back sir..."

Standing herself up, Chel noticed something flicker in the corner of her eye, "huh," there was another flicker, a tiny blue light slowly fluttering it's way towards her, "what...the...hell," once it was floating just before her face, she lifted a hand to touch it – surprisingly, it landed on the tips of her fingers, "whoa," it felt like tiny little feet were lightly pressed against her fingertips, "hey there beautiful, how are you," she noticed a pair of wings protruded out from the back, "where'd you come from?"

Just then, it jerked backwards like a fly, hovering around in a tight circle, "what is it," noticing how it moved back again then forwards as if looking at her, she paused, "you want me to follow you," it floated up and down, "well, I don't know," Chel had been asked to stay and wait, but the corset around her body was getting on her nerves, _maybe I can make it back in time, it probably just wants to play, _"umm alright," setting her sketchbook away, she tossed the satchel over her shoulder, "where are we headed?"

Heading around the table, she followed it to one of the side doors. Pushing it open, she found herself in the middle of a grandiose kitchen, one that wouldn't be found in a regular home, or in a restaurant for that matter, "whoa," a variety of foods were laid out in huge barrels that were covered by a light cloth, literal bushes and trees were lined along a wall with fresh fruits and vegetables growing off them, a shelf held an array of utensils that she'd never even seen before, "some fancy living," _well duh, he's a king, _hearing a little tinkle, Chel shook her thoughts, "oh sorry," the ball of light was waiting patiently at another door on the far end of the room, "I'm coming," jogging across to the other end of the room, she felt two little hands touch her cheek as she touched the handle, "okay, quietly."

Slowly twisting the handle, Chel looked around, they were looking through one of the doors that opened up to the main hall. Pulling back, she watched a group of soldiers rushing toward the exit, "I hope everyone's okay," waiting for the sound of footsteps to pass, she slipped into the hallway, following the light that fluttered along one of the walls. Giggling a little, she found herself enjoying the sneaking around – for once it wasn't to get away from anyone. Pausing at the end of the main hall, she watched the thing slip in between a crowd of soldiers and up to the second floor, settling on the animal head that was attached to the railing.

"Hmm," waiting for the soldiers to pass, Chel rushed across the open space, "oh crap," running as fast as possible, she jumped beside the steps where darkness veiled her, her leg screaming in pain. The king was passing by and she watched him intently. A large blade was in his hand and blackish-purple heavy armor covered him, _holy crap_. To her surprise, he stopped, turning his head to look down the hallway to the dining room, his permanent scowl deepening, _is he mad at me? _Watching him leave, she quietly made her way up the steps, giving the little blue light a disappointed look, "don't go rushing off on me okay," it turned and fluttered off, "of course, silent treatment...not that you could talk anyway."

Following it down the hall, she had to pause in order to catch her breath. The corset was finally taking its toll on her, she felt lightheaded. Feeling the blue light against her cheek, Chel gave a reassuring smile, "I'm okay, just give me a second," steadying her breath, she stood herself up right and nodded, "go ahead."

Hesitantly, the light fluttered along, so she made sure to stay in tow with it, "How long are we gonna be playing huh," looking around the hall, she could see all the family paintings that hung there, all of them seemed normal enough, save for the pointy ears, _does the king have pointy ears_, Chel never really looked at that part of his head, "oh well," following the light, she found herself treading into darker parts of the castle, "we need to bust out some lamps er torches er something," noticing the critter stop, she found herself in front of a metal door that time, "what's this," rubbing her hands against the cold mineral, she felt around for the handle – it looked to be a slide and lock mechanism.

"I don't think we should be here," something about the area made her feel dirty, as if she just came across something that wasn't meant to be seen, "I should get back," the light shook and gently touched her cheek, "you aren't trying to get me in trouble are you," looking at the door again, Chel felt the anxiousness tickling the tips of her fingers, "are you sure we'll be fine," she felt the small hand rub her cheek – though she didn't want to cause any inconvenience to the king, for some reason she found the desire to carry out the little request becoming more and more apparent.

"Well...alright," grunting, she tugged the handle along and twisted it up, a loud clank sounding somewhere from inside, "here we go," pushing against the thing, she felt a tug at her soul – something was calling her, "c'mon," the door creaked, inching it's way open, it was like an unrelenting force was pushing from the other side, "is this really the room you wanted," watching the light flutter up and down, she heaved a sigh before shoving herself against it, her leg aching ferociously, "stupid freakin door, OPEN," slamming herself against it one more time, Chel found herself tumbling to the floor inside, the door slamming behind her, "uhhh maaan."

Groaning, she slowly sat herself up, the corset pinching her violently, "aiya," taking a deep breath, she felt that tug at her being again, "huh," looking around, she couldn't see anything, it was completely black, but the force that beckoned for her was nearly whispering in her ears, "wait a minute," standing up, she looked around for the light, "are you stuck outside," reaching for where the door was, she found nothing there, "what the-"

There was nothing but a smooth wall in front of her, "The fuck," slapping her hand around for the handle, Chel felt her heart pounding, "I gotta get back to dinner, don't freakin play with me karma, please-"

_Chel, _pausing in her struggle, she felt the unrelenting force tugging at her once again, "who's there," her skin crawled as she slowly turned around in hopes of not finding anything deadly, "...I have somewhere to be, so it'd be nice if-whoa," a dull light – a multitude of colors to be exact – glowed in the distance, "...beautiful," the lights seeped around like hollow tentacles floating around aimlessly, "hmm," hesitantly, she pulled away from the wall, it was like walking in a black hole – her only source of light was calling to her.

The light seemed to brush against her skin – whips of a dying rainbow gently seducing her forward, "oh my," the source of the light was a single case, one that'd be found in a museum – the glass being made of something that wasn't solid. Inside lay a black velvet sash, ontop of said item were six different colored medals with an intricate design on them, "so...pretty," Chel felt almost mesmerized by the strange items. She could feel the power, like static was raising the hairs on her arms.

_Chel, _the air hitched in her throat as she was nearly tugged into the case, "This doesn't look right," the more she stared, the more it seemed like the medals were trapped. Touching the case, she felt a sharp pain as her hand was blasted back, a black mist rippling off of where she touched it, "crap," frowning, she looked around for any kind of lock or something to open it, but it was some sort of invisible barrier, "ow," the force became frantic, screaming in her ears like a whistle, "I'm trying...give me a second," searching desperately, she found nothing, "huh...okay."

There were no options other than to try and push through the thing. Touching it again, her hand was shot back, "aiya," her wrist was still injured from that morning, so she had to ease the pain away, "please don't make me regret this," taking a deep breath, she took one more look at the case before slamming her hands against it.

Chel felt the pain surging through her like electricity, her whole body vibrated as the black mist seeped around her hands, pouring out into the darkness of the room. The loud buzzing that hummed in her eyes didn't do much to help the pain, "c'mon," pushing her whole weight against the thing, she could see her fingers slowly sinking through. The lights seemed to brighten the closer she got to the medals, the energy was kissing the tips of her fingers.

_Save us, we're right here, reach...reach_, the cries echoed in her head, she could feel the exhaustion beginning to take affect, "Right there," flicking her fingers, it felt as though her hands were being crushed into dust, "please," shoving herself down again, she felt an addictive chill surge through her body as a blinding light blasted from the case. Just then, Chel realized her fingers had touched one of the medals, apparently letting off a chain reaction. The barrier that held her out suddenly dispersed, making her realize that she'd been pushing so hard that she'd been on her tip toes.

The light that was growing even brighter forced her to back up and block her eyes, "crap," squinting as best as possible, she watched the light slowly die down until the six medals were floating in a line before her, "whoa," she was literally at a loss for words, her heart pounded with excitement – some sort of connection was being cycled between them and her, "what...what are you?"

Of course, the question was fairly stupid looking at it from a regular standpoint, but Chel had literally been sucked through a 'Time Gate,' saved by a scarecrow child and guided by a light with wings, she had the right to question stupidly. The colorful light hovered around them in smoke, it was a sight too surreal. Trying to step closer, she paused when the medals slowly hovered around her in a circle, continuously spinning at the same time.

"Uhh okay, no, I don't like this," trying to move, Chel noticed that they only followed her movements, lights dripping down into endless waterfalls all around her, "shit...oh god, please, let me go," the spinning only sped up, creating a wind that blew everywhere. Her heart was ready to burst from her chest as a whirring noise filled her ears, a static filling the air with such force that it could've thundered.

"No, I can't, please I need to get – HURGH," one of the medals slammed right into her chest, almost knocking her clean off her feet. The yellow light began seeping into her skin, her body fixing to convulse under pressure, _am I gonna die? _Another one slammed into her, pushing her even harder, "GUH," screaming in agony, Chel felt her body surging with excessive amounts of energy that burned her to the core. One after another, the medals fused into her skin until all of the light that had dazed her was leaking from her own skin.

Everything fell silent save for the violent beating of her heart. Her insides burned and her head pounded with a vengeance. The room was darker from the light that poured out of her, but Chel stumbled back to the wall she'd first entered through. Slamming her fist against it, she felt herself leaning heavily on it, "Someone, open up...please," her mind was falling in and out of consciousness when the wall caved in, granting her access to the outside world.

Crashing into the floor, she had to lay there for a second, panting – the light was shining against the walls. A soft tinkle sounded from somewhere, but she wanted to find someone to stop the pain. Pushing herself up, she stumbled down the corridor aimlessly until a voice sounded in her head, _over here, _turning down a darker hall, her vision suddenly went dull, lights thickly coating the world around her. She could still see, but it was like she suddenly needed glasses prescribed for blurriness and color distortion. Following the voice, Chel could feel the corset growing tighter and tighter, adding onto the burn within.

Time seemed to leap around, she'd opened up numerous doors until coming across a ladder that led to a hatch door. Everything blurred from there, _keep going, _moving forward her limbs moved automatically, the feeling of cold air blowing against her. She crawled on her knees, the winds keeping her down – she could smell humidity of a fresh pour in the air, but she was moving blindly. Her hand caught air and she went tumbling along something slightly steep, her legs and head scraping against it.

_Chel, over here, you'll be free just come here_, "please," turning onto her stomach, she crawled along the hard stony floor, the light no longer pouring but floating in and around her like smoke. Struggling to stand herself up, she could feel the wind whipping around her, teetering her balance, "help me," hands were gently pushing her, _we're right here. _Unable to will herself anymore, Chel let the wind blow her away, her legs giving in.

She could feel herself falling fast, but the farther she went, the less the pain could be felt. _Are you there, _she let go as she was told, but the voice gave her no response. The wind whistled in her ears and her skirt flapped and slapped against her, Chel knew the ground was growing closer by the second, but she just couldn't care, _I've been dragged around this whole time, I don't want to be here anymore. _Curling into a ball, she welcomed death, the pain receding but she couldn't care less, _just let it be over._

_Right here, _just then, the world around her slowed down as large warm – yet extremely possessive – arms wrapped around her, cutting off the brutal wind that battered her body. The warmth that surrounded her drew her eyes open, she could clearly see the place she'd fallen from – a stone connector to one of the pillars that surrounded the castle. The light still held snug to her body, but the warm eyes were stealing her attention. Looking slightly to the left, Chel could see the person who saved her, but they were completely blurred. She didn't want to leave her ball of solitude, but that didn't seem to bug them.

"**Over there**," she could hear the clattering of armor, but the dark was all that covered her vision. _The king, I need my cell, I want to sleep._ Unraveling her body, she tried to move, but a shrill whistle filled her ears as the one carrying her leaped into the air, "**stop you thief! He's kidnapped her! Stop him!**"

Her mind was foggy, one minute, she was flying, the next she was thundering along on a horse, arms firmly wrapped around her. Chel felt the cold air beating against her face, the sound of a thousand hooves thundering and shouting behind them. The world around her was coming to end, the corset finally cutting off all air and circulation to her body – she was dying and no one knew it. _Get me out, I need freedom, _she wasn't sure on what that actually meant, but something was suddenly pushing her to survive. Reaching for the arm that caged her in, she took it into her small ones – she could feel the soul in the person, the beating of their heart and how it sped up when she touched them, "I can't...breathe."

Pulling the hand back, she ran it up her spine, praying that they understood what she was trying to get at. Her ribs were literally crushing under the tightness, the life draining from her, _this death trap_. Feeling the fingers curl into the article, Chel heard the intake of air before an explosion ruptured the connection and she went flying, a loud snap resounding in her side. The light drained from her skin as she slammed into the floor, the corset tearing under the pressure – her skin was her own again but the surging energy had already taken it's toll. Greedily sucking in air, she could see the flames of the explosion raging towards her. She couldn't stay awake, she couldn't run, her whole body was completely destroyed, burned from the inside out, _let me sleep, just give me that. _

Letting her eyes closed, she could hear the sound of hooves and shouting, but it wasn't enough to keep her grounded to the world. _Let me sleep. _The darkness took her in.

* * *

So yes, another update, took me a while to get it written, been busy with things. Hopefully I didn't make you wait too long. I do hope you enjoy, and if you did , let me know. Favorite, leave a review, do whatever. Questions? Contact me on Tumblr (on profile) or here, either way is good even if you just wanna chat. Hope you enjoyed the read, and please have a nice day/night.


	7. Golden Eyes

Golden Eyes

* * *

_"Can you hear me," Chel felt the softness of warm fingers brushing against her cheek, "I'm glad you're safe...please, talk to me."_

_ "Mmmm," groaning, she could feel the lap in which her head rested, "...can I just sleep? I don't want to wake up."_

_ "But you are awake," feeling the hand gently through her hair, she opened her eyes to find Hylia smiling down at her, "you've finally woken. I thought you never would."_

_ "Hmmm? Where've you been," turning on her side, she ran a finger in circles on the Goddess's knee, "I thought you needed me for something important," sighing, she curled her knees, not wanting to deal with anyone, "...I don't care...I just want to go home."_

_ "You understand that I can't do that for you."_

_ "Why not," sitting herself up, Chel mustered as much of an ugly glare as possible, "can't you make another one of your Gate of Time thinga-majigs? You're a freakin Goddess for christ's sake," all the frustration that had apparently bottled itself up inside while she was alone was spilling out of her, "I nearly died just a few minutes ago! Did you not see that freakin glow-show," the disappointment on the woman's face was evident, but she didn't care._

_ Why was she even talking to the woman? She was nearly mauled to death by a wolf, and she was, wait, was she dead? She couldn't remember what had occurred after the attack of the weird medals._

_ "You need to return now," sighing, Hylia gave her a stern look, "I can't keep you here, you have things to fulfill." _

_ "...Why can't I just be dead," frowning, Chel looked to the ground, "it's better than being forced to do thi-"_

_ She was cut off by the feeling of the woman's arms around her, a strange comfort overcoming her, "I'm sorry...I'm glad we got you in time," she had no idea what the woman was talking about, "now," placing her hand on her cheek, Hylia kissed her forehead, "It's time to return to your body."_

_ "Do I really have to?"_

_ "I'm afraid so," smiling, Hylia brushed her arm, "they're waiting for you now. Please remember, you aren't in your own time anymore. You can consider these people your ancestors."_

_ "No wait I-"_

-OoOoOoO-

Chel's eyes fluttered open to the light of the morning sun. Groaning, she slowly sat herself up, gasping in pain as a sharp jab caught her side, "ai-ya," touching the finger to her rib, she could tell that something serious had happened the night before. Wait, how long had she been out? Where exactly was she? Looking around, she noticed that she lay underneath a makeshift tent, blankets resting underneath her and her sweater dress covering her.

Chel sighed, but paused at the smell of something cooking from outside, "what's going on," she felt completely energetic and healthy, save for the injury she sustained from the night before.

"Are you awake," pausing, she laid as still as possible when the male voice reached her ears, it sounded strikingly familiar. Taking a moment, she had to ease her nerves before saying anything.

"Yeah, I am," slowly sitting herself up, she felt arms gently push her back down.

"Oh no, you can't get up just yet," sitting before her was Tim, her father who she'd just been wondering if she'd ever see again, "you've sustained a lot of injuries since you're incarceration, you need to recover," he was in a green tunic of sorts, with white pants that could've passed as tights, a pointed cap was hooked in one of the many belts that he wore, "you've been caught in that sorcerer's grip for quite some time."

"What," frowning a little, she couldn't figure out why he didn't recognize her, "Tim...what are you talking about it's me," seeing the partial frown on his face, Chel had a feeling something was wrong, "you...you don't," just then, she remembered the goddess's words, "oh," taking into greater detail, she noticed the pointed ears and the younger features on the man, "you're not Tim huh," her hopes were suddenly dashed and she felt the pit of regret filling her stomach.

"I could be if it made you happy," the weird response made her chuckle a little in which, he smiled back, "my name's Link, you seem to be doing a lot better from last night," he examined, making her feel a little awkward, "you don't have any pains? Any wounds we missed?"

"We? Wait, wait," pausing his babying manner, Chel sighed, "where exactly am I right now?"

"Kakariko Refuge camp," he frowned a little, "I don't like calling it that, but it can't be helped huh? No thanks to that sorcerer," noticing the scowl on his face, she didn't want to tell him that his response gave her no help, so instead she closed her eyes for a minute, trying to remember what exactly happened.

"Do you know," furrowing her brows, she failed to figure out what exactly she'd gone through, "do you know what happened last night?"

"Well," sighing, he took a moment to think about her question, "I know that my team was fighting the castle soldiers, while Impa and her team snuck into deeper parts of the castle to retrieve the items for the towns and of course, retrieve you," Chel realized that he must've been the skirmish the king had been talking about, _Tim was a traitor of the people? Wait, am I even safe here, _realizing this, she tried her best to distance herself from him, "...before we could successfully remove the castle's defense, this strange blinding light started raining down on us, everything turning white," scratching his chin, he continued to mess around with the food that was apparently for her, "then the guards were running off, trying to catch someone," a little growl of irritation escaped as he spoke to himself, "of course, we didn't figure out it was _him _until we noticed he had left the fight."

Chel was listening intently, but she couldn't quite figure out whether she could trust the man in front of her or not, "So...what exactly happened to the king?"

"Well he's dead of course," the matter-of-fact tone made her want to vomit.

"Oh...hmmm well, that's," gripping onto the blanket that was under her head, she tossed it at his face before making for an escape, "hurgh," her side burned, but Chel ran as fast as possible to get away from him. _The King's dead? I gotta get out of here!_

"Whoa there," just then, she was snatched up into a pair of muscular arms, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Let me go damn it! You freakin murderers," fighting to get free, she felt a finger jab into her side, causing her body to lock up momentarily.

"Murderers," the voice perked her attention, so Chel looked up only to find the woman that was in the prison house with her, she was cloaked in dark blue with a black side cape embroidered with gold and an orange sash around her waist, "what did that boy tell you exactly?"

"Y-you're...alive? But, I thought-"

"I was dead? No," carrying her back towards the tent, the woman sighed, "I escaped before they could kill me. I planned the capture anyway," setting her down, she gave Link a dirty look before turning back to her, "I wanted to make sure you were real before we made plans to get you. Clearly, _he _had other plans," watching the woman growl to herself, Chel was starting to get the idea that someone else was with them but obviously not trusted, "to respond to your earlier remark...we are not murderers-"

"But the King, he-"

"Has been dead for years," frowning, the woman took the bowl of food from Link and gave it to her, "what you saw during your stay at the castle was an illusion, dark magic," she furrowed her brows before adjusting her cloak and sitting down beside Chel, "the sorcerer's dark magic," realizing she didn't understand, she tried to simplify it, "the King of Hyrule, he is dead. The sorcerer used his dark magic to disguise himself as the king."

Chel felt her stomach flip, "no way, that's ridiculous."

"Then tell me, do you feel more aware, more in control of yourself, do you understand time? It's not...lost in all confusion of your head?"

"Well, yeah but what does that have to do with anything?"

"How long was your stay with the King?"

"About...two weeks-"

"Wrong," sticking her finger up, the woman realized she wasn't going to eat, so instead, handed the food back to Link, who sat there folding and setting things away, "you were there for one week, their magic can distort time, but it's been this strong on someone before," the gears were grinding in her head by then, "you were kidnapped from your home and brought to Hyrule no?"

Nodding, Chel had to stop her babbling, "Wait...wait, how do you even know about me," watching the woman stretch, she found herself growing irritated, "how did you find me? How did you even know I existed? How could you know who I am?"

"Hylia," feeling her stomach drop, Chel found herself growing more and more frustrated with the Goddess, "she had no means of contacting you since you were under the sorcerer's influence, so she came to me in hopes of freeing you from the man's clutches."

"I thought she could only contact deities like herself," strangely enough, Chel was beginning to wonder what exactly she herself was if she was able to make contact with so many other deities aside from the Goddess of Time.

"I never heard anything about that, however, that would've been the first time a deity had ever spoken to me," sitting herself up, the woman looked her up and down, "she was telling the truth about you being different, but I don't believe a child like you has potential to be of any use, unless of course, you are some sort of fighter yourself."

"I'd actually have to agree with you on that," frowning, Chel was getting the impression that the woman had something against her, "please, don't call me child. I'm capable and aware of what's going on. I went to school, I'm educated, don't misinterpret my inability to be of use as a means to treat me poorly. I appreciate your kindness – coming and saving me – but I don't plan on staying too long if you have no use of me other than to berate me," holding her finger up, she wanted to clear the air, "as for fighting...I know very little methods of doing so, but I can defend myself."

"...Hmph, I find you to be excessively lacking, no means of magic, that's strange for a Gerudo."

"What the heck is that? Is that some kind of derogatory term for something?"

Both company gave her a funny look, Link tilting his head in confusion, "well, that's what you are isn't it? A Gerudo thief? You have the ears."

"No idea what you're talking about," shrugging her shoulders, she found that the corset she'd been wearing was still loosely wrapped around her, "I'm most definitely not a thief," sliding the thing out of her tube top, she hissed at the ache in her side.

"Don't play stupid," the woman gripped her chin, "you don't have the traits of a Hylian, you look similar to a Gerudo, though your hair isn't red, you have skin slightly darker than mine. You even speak the language."

Slapping the woman's hand away, Chel could see the fierce glare in her eyes, "I don't know what the hell a damn Hylian is, so please don't get rough. Half the things you're saying doesn't make any damn sense," huffing, she gripped her side, when another pinch nipped at her, "I'm a human being, I don't have your stupid elf ears, I don't speak Gerudanese er whatever you'd call it, I speak English, If you're going to interrogate me like you're my parents, please spare me."

Chel watched the woman laugh aloud, "What's so funny," from the moment she woke up, Chel found nothing of the current situation amusing nor funny – she was stuck at a camp with people she didn't know, who seemed to know more of things than she did.

"You are, of course," just then a look of disgust crossed her face, "you'd do well to watch your tongue...it could get you killed someday," the threat was definitely real, but Chel found it to be more of a challenge rather than anything else.

"Boy aren't you a warm person," sighing sarcastically, she tried her best to lay back down.

"Well of course, I'm warmblooded and have plenty of-"

"It was a joke people, c'mon," slapping her hand over her face, Chel was beginning to notice the gap of communication between her and the people. _Maybe the prison cell was a better place to be. _

"I don't find it amusing in the least," the woman crossed her arms, clearly not trusting the girl.

"You sure are uptight," looking at her thought-to-have-been father, Chel felt the unmistakeable pang of nostalgia in her chest, "...his ancestor."

"I'm sorry, were you saying something," seeing as to how his ears perked with a twitch, she found herself laughing, "do I amuse you?"

"Just a little," sighing, she tried to adjust her head, but the bun it was fixed in didn't help her in the least, so she sat herself up, "well this isn't gonna work."

"Are you always so fidgety," the woman gave her a funny look.

"Impa," Link gave her a saddening look, "please forgive her, she doesn't like being away from the Princess for long periods."

"The Princess," Chel scrunched her nose in interest, "who exactly is this princess?"

"None of your concern," Impa remarked curtly before standing to leave, "I'm going to check on _my _people," she gave her the look as if to say 'yes _my _people and you're the outsider'.

Frowning, Chel felt the anger boiling in the pit of her stomach, but she didn't want to continue the tiring conversation, "whatever," her mood was deflating more than it already had, it was as if she were still in Hylow, people still mistrusting her without giving her a chance.

"Don't worry about her," feeling a warm hand on her shoulder, she looked up to find Link staring in the direction that Impa had gone, "she just...doesn't trust well," giving her a soft smile, he reassured her, "it comes with the title."

"Title," though she didn't want to talk about the woman, she had to start somewhere in order to better understand what was going on with her, "is she royalty like the princess?"

"No, it's not that," looking around, he sighed, "Impa is what you'd call a Sheikah, they were appointed as official guardians of the royal Hyrule family," Chel noticed the furrow in his brows, "the death of the king weighs heavy on their hearts, Impa the most. So, she's only grown more suspicious of anyone from the outside."

"...I see," appreciative that it wasn't anything personal, she still felt excessively attacked for someone who was just a civilian, "..."

"Why don't you take a bath in the springs," looking up, Chel gave him a funny look, "I mean, not for my-like a umm," she laughed at how red he was becoming, "what I meant was...it'll help you relax."

"No, I understand," smiling, she carefully sat herself up, "don't get all flustered," just then, she realized just how much dirt was on her, "I know what you meant," looking at him, she sighed, "so, where is it?"

"Oh uhh," setting the folded items aside, Link stood while giving her a hand, "it's this way," opening the flap of the tent, he let her through.

"Oh, wow," Chel felt her heart pause at the sight. Much larger and sturdier tents were laid about everywhere, people were scattered all over the place either dragging planks, gathering stone or watching after children. The town, or what it used to be, was burned down, turned to ash and black rock, "how long has it been this way?"

Looking over to Link, she could see the sadness in his eyes, "it's been about a year, when Kakariko was first ransacked, there was literally nothing but blackened earth and ash-filled air," his brows furrowing, she noticed that his fists were trembling, "so many were killed...so many."

"...I see," frowning, Chel didn't like the way the conversation was turning, "so umm, where are the springs," looking over, she realized that he didn't hear her, "Link," he jerked awkwardly toward her with a questioning look, "umm, the springs?"

"Right, sorry," stepping past her, he took her hand, leading her through the crowd of people. Almost everyone stopped to stare, or made quick glances at her, a sense of mistrust in the air. Was it just her? Looking at Link, it seemed as though he didn't even notice, _maybe I'm just tired, _"up here," looking over, Chel noticed a steep walkway that was carved out of one of the mountains that surrounded the camp.

"Okay," following him along, she noticed the warm breeze that blew across her face, "it feels nice."

"The heat comes from Death Mountain," his words brought her attention back, "the Gorons live there, they're rather mistrusting of outsiders, but they do recognize strength," looking at her with a smile, Chel realized it was an enjoyable topic for him, "I've been there many times, but not for a few months."

"Maybe you could take me there sometime," grinning back at him, she squeezed his hand, realizing just how much she wished for her home back, "so, what kind of people are Gorons?"

"Why don't I show you after your bath, it's pretty early, so I could take you up the mountain today if you want," the enthusiasm in his voice made her giggle.

"That'd be nice," he was the complete opposite of her father, much nicer and caring, exactly what Tim wanted to be. He seemed to be the only person that didn't judge her. She couldn't deny that she felt comfortable around him. _Where did things go wrong?_

"We're here," letting go of her hand, he stepped aside so she could see.

"Oooo," they had made it up the walkway, coming to a small plateau that had some sort of flowers blooming on the mountain sides that surrounded it. There were two boulders that rested on either side of the spring, creating somewhat of a divide. The water was so clear that Chel could see straight to the bottom, "wow."

"This is the only one in the camp," the nostalgia on his face was unmistakeable, "I'll have to show you the one inside Goron City, it's much bigger than this one," sighing, he looked at her, "whenever you're finished, just wait for me at the walkway," heading off himself, he waved her goodbye.

"Hmmm," staring at the spring, she worked her hands on the gladiator sandals that she wore, being sure to undo all the straps that wrapped around her calves, "ugh," the walk up the pathway did a number on her thigh – the injury had apparently been injured more the night before. Removing the rest of her clothing, Chel stepped into the spring, the water reaching just below her rear. It was beyond warm, a relaxing temperature.

"Sooooo good," sitting down, she felt tingles run up her spine and through the rest of her body. The water was just under her shoulder blades, leaving just enough room for her chest to be slightly submerged, though it made little difference in covering them. It felt as though warm hands were rubbing over her limbs, conducting some sort of energy in the core of her body.

Turning her back to one of the boulders, she rested her head to where she could overlook Kakariko. The strange thing about the town, was the grassy field down below where all the people dwelled. The grass was interrupted by the walls of the bare dry mountains, as if they were suddenly dropped from the sky. They stuck out jaggedly, where the land below was smooth and flowing. None of it looked right, as if the mountains came out like a pop-up book.

"Death Mountain," letting her eyes roam over the hundreds of mountains in the distance, they landed on one that seemed to extend up into the heavens, a heavy cloud of smoke and fire sprawling across it's peak, "that's a given," turning back around, she tipped her head, letting her nose dip underneath the surface of the water.

Just then, as if someone had dug into her body, a hand gripped violently at her stomach, "hurgh," gripping her sides, Chel felt a wave of nausea overcome her, "oh my god," trying to focus, her vision blurred even more, throat tightening. Trying to fight off the feeling, she didn't notice the hand that trailed up her back.

"The medallions," moving herself forward, she felt herself be forced around, her eyes landing on a pair of red blazing ones, "where did you get that tattoo?"

"Impa...what," frowning, she felt the grip on her stomach tightening, "I don't have tattoos."

"Stop lying," her brows furrowed as she dug her nails into her skin, "where did you get them!?"

"Let go of me," the woman had a death grip on her arms, only worsening her condition, "please, I don't want to-hurgh."

"How do you know about them," the rage in her voice sent chills down her spine, but her insides were about ready to come out, "you can't hide this forever! Answer me!"

Before anything else could happen, Chel heard the loud screeching of a bird, forcing both of their heads in one direction. She couldn't see much other than giant talons for feet tearing Impa away from her, sending Chel flying back into the water. Struggling for balance, she palmed the giant boulder behind her before spotting a giant bird that stood before her – it towered over her, blocking almost all of the scenery around it. Elongated horns, _or were they eyebrows, _rested just above it's piercing blue eyes, making it's grumpy expression seem even more exaggerated. It's feathers were a mix of brown white and tan, the pattern on it making it appear much more menacing. It looked as though another pair of black beady eyes rested on it's chin, _another face. _It puffed out, appearing muscular in the chest but a little bit pouched in the belly.

"Oh my g-ugh," unable to contain all of the pain that tore through her abdomen, she moved closer to the owl in order to keep from falling below the surface of the water and dropped on all four, waiting for the surging sensation to come. She could hear Impa moving around, but her body refused to move. She noticed the shadow that veiled her as feathers lightly brushed against her back.

_Cleanse yourself, _a deep raspy voice echoed through her head before her body arched violently, her head pushing out. It took a few seconds for anything to come up, but Chel immediately felt fear overcome her when black slime slowly oozed out of her mouth as if it were clinging to her esophagus. She couldn't breathe, but the strange substance continued to seep out of her, choking her to death. It balled up at the end as if a balloon were hanging at the bottom piling up the goo inside and stretched to the surface of the water a loud sizzling coming from the contact – steam blew up and around it. Her vision was going blurry, but the air refused to come to her, just push out as she wretched over and over again. _This hurts so much_, her limbs were going numb, the slime spreading across the surface of the water and hissing in her ears. Her heart hammered in her ears.

Just then, her throat clenched once more before the slime slipped from her mouth, disconnecting with a sick 'pop' and 'shluck' sending Chel into a gasping frenzy. Watching the slime hiss and scream, she waited as it slowly disintegrated into nothingness. The feathers still rested on her back, giving her a sense of weight to keep her focused, yet it wasn't enough to keep her awake. _I am beside you till the end_. The supposed wing broke contact, a light that followed suit, poured from her back and down her arms, rolling across the water in a golden mist. Once the light died down, she felt her limbs give out and she plummeted into the water._ You are strong, _it was the raspy voice again, _I put my faith in you, restore this land. It needs you. _

She could hear the echo of splashes that approached her, but it did nothing to pull her out of the darkness. Everything fell silent.

-OoOoOoO-

"-She's the first to even survive it," Chel could hear the bickering that was commencing around her, but it still felt fairly distant from her, "at least this long."

"Well I ca-we, can't have her dead," she recognized Impa's stern voice, cold as ever, "she has secrets that we need to know."

"Would you give it a rest," she felt the arms tighten around her, and the warmth of someone's chest, "it's clear that she is blessed by the Goddesses-"

"Those markings are no coincidental choice of ink," the woman raised her voice, clearly becoming frustrated, "I don't care what you think, she isn't anything I've seen before. I have no reason to trust her," her body was gently set down, but the bickering continued, "you're so foolish, do you actually have faith in her? In those deities who don't even govern this world anymore? They've abandoned us!"

"Not all of them," the roar vibrated the ground around her, Chel was able to clarify that it was Link, "they've sent us someone, someone who can fix this problem...If anything, we were the ones who abandoned them! We tainted their land, destroyed everything, and abused the power that was given to us," she could hear a slight chuckle come from him, "somewhere in time, somewhere we messed up...that's why the Triforce no longer glows with life."

The tension in the room only grew heavier and heavier, but Chel was beginning to gain control over the rest of her senses, _guess I should break this up right now. _Opening her eyes, she felt the light of the sun burn her eyes, causing her to groan in agitation, "ohhh," stretching herself a little, she felt energy surging through her body.

"Are you alright," arms were instantly around her, helping her sit up right, "nothing is broken, you're not wounded," the questions spewed out of Link's mouth as he showered her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay," sighing, she felt her limbs slowly working to her will, "I guess I was sick," just then, she realized that they were still at the spring.

"More than just sick," Impa's remark was about to go unnoticed by Link, but Chel gripped his arm when she felt a pinch in her side.

"Ow," it was extremely subtle, nothing too serious, but Link began to prod her side anyway, "no I'm fine really, it's ok-"

"Her rib," the excitement in his voice made her jump a little as he looked over to the angry woman, "it's healed," the both of them gave her a curious look, Impa's none too friendly, "it must've been that owl you were talking about."

"Owl? What-ohh," she remembered the bird that had appeared just a little while ago, "...so it was an owl, I thought it was some kind of fluffed up bird-dragon of sorts."

"Impa dressed you when you lost consciousness," the frown on his face caught her attention, "I was preparing things for the mountain but I heard the screech from our station, so I ran here as fast as possible."

"That substance you expelled was the sorcerer's way of controlling you," Impa spoke nonchalantly.

"But how did it-"

"Did you eat while you were there? Anything at all?"

"Well, I couldn't really eat, so I just nibbled off the bread that was given to me and I had a few spoonfuls of stew."

"What you ate was not real food, more of a poison shrouded with illusion magic. Now imagine eating much more than you already had," she pointed out matter-of-factly, "you would've become just like the people that still linger there, just like all of those servants and soldiers. We've saved a few people who withstood the magic, but they met quickly with death, becoming re-deads from the poison eating them to the core. We only understood much later that they ate so far to excess, that the magic led straight to death instead of manipulating their minds."

"You're the first to even survive it," Link added solemnly, "no one has ever expelled the magic like this. So you're the first who might have valuable information that can help combat against that monster of a being."

"That winged beast or tattoo saved you, that's all."

Trying to run into more detail of what happened, she looked over to Impa who was clearly not in the mood for friendly chat, "What tattoo are you talking about?"

"Hmph," the look of disgust that crossed her face only agitated Chel more, "the six symbols that run down your spine, the medallions that you have knowledge of. Only five remain there now," the furrow of her brows proved that she was just as confused as herself, "there was this golden light that poured from the one in between your shoulder blades...then it was gone, the medallion along with it."

"Medallions," scrunching her nose, she tried to remember if anything would've triggered anything on her skin, "are they colored?"

"No, just black ink-"

"Are you sure?"

"Why ask me? You should know you little-"

"Clearly I don't," she glowered at the woman, who only returned the favor, "now if you'd just cooperate then I could better the results that we get and the answers that you receive," Link was still holding her lower back, but she didn't mind, "I'm trying to figure this crap out myself," returning to her thoughts, she traced back to her time at the castle, "...while I was held captive, I came across this room that was behind a heavy metal door," her skin crawled all over the place, "I found these...these six medals that were inside some kind of case covered by a barrier," her skin felt like jell-o just from remembering the vibrating pain, "I remember touching one of them, then the barrier broke, it was strange, "frowning, Chel sighed, "they swirled around me, blinding me with the light that poured from them before striking me in the chest and vanishing-"

"So they're inside of you," the woman gave her a strange look.

"I know it sounds weird, but I'm just laying out the facts," shrugging her shoulders, she looked over to Death Mountain that was in the distance, a strange foreboding feeling overcoming her, "...hey you guys," something whispered in her ears, caressing her forward, "we shouldn't stay here long. I think I sh-"

"Hush," giving Impa a strange look, she wanted to punch her in the face, _you wanted to freakin know_, but her mind drew a blank, so it made no difference anyway. The woman appeared to have been listening to something, "...horses."

"_He's _here," the menace in Link's voice didn't go unnoticed, but Chel was more distracted by the rumbling of the ground around her, "I'm taking her up Death Mountain."

"I'll go have a word with that **igashnatha**_**.**__"_

"What did she say," she watched the woman storm down the pathway as Link went to grab her shoes.

"It's Sheikah, I don't know," the seriousness in his tone bothered her, but she followed him in silence, not wanting to cause any trouble. Even though he was an ancestor, his focused, pinched up face matched Tim's perfectly.

As they made their way down, Chel realized that almost all the bustling of the people fell silent, their bodies clumped up in random groups, whispering to each other. Looking to where they had first been, she noticed the group of horses coming around the curve, but it was a little too blinding to see from up high. As they descended to ground level, she noticed a few people whisper caution to Link before he turned to her.

"You see that archway in the mountain over there," pointing behind her, she turned around to see what he was talking about – all the way across the camp, was a giant walkway that led into the mountains, it curved well enough that it would've been missed if he didn't point it out, "there should be a fence blocking the way. Wait for me there."

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

"I need to get a few things before we-"

"Ganon," they both twisted at the same time, Impa's voice boomed across the camp, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Go," Link pushed her off, leaving her to try and sneak away without being caught.

Watching him head off, she turned and moved along the crowds of people who continued to go about their business but hissing rude remarks towards whoever the people were.

"I have no other business here than to gather supplies and seek shelter for the wounded," the deep velvety voice that followed suit sent chills running up and down her spine, "my people have been injured-"

"And so have mine! No thanks to your decision to abandon the battle," she could tell Impa was fuming, but she continued to weave her way through the crowd of people, until the voices were simple murmurs in the distance.

The swarms of people grew thicker and thicker, the farther she got. Chel found herself tripping over feet and getting elbowed in the neck. She kept excusing herself, her heart racing in hopes of getting away as soon as possible. Just then, her body was shoved to the left, forced with the motion of the crowd as they gasped aloud in fear. _What are they freaking out for now? _The sound of hooves caught her ear and she felt a lump swell up in her throat as she realized one of the visitors were headed her way.

Pushing herself deep into the crowd, she felt the presence of power as the thumping hooves grew louder and louder. Dipping her head down, she peeked through the crowd. She could hear rustling of the saddle and the thud of feet hitting the ground. Everyone seemed to hold their breath and she hadn't noticed she'd done the same. Everyone backed up, pushing her further back, until Chel completely dropped out of the group of people, falling on her rear.

"Ow," looking around, she noticed that the fence was just a few feet away from her, "hmm," her heart raced as she got herself up, the loud footsteps approaching the crowd as they continued to back up or break off from the group – there wasn't much time left until there was nothing hiding her anymore. Although she wasn't scared, it was apparent that her presence remaining a secret was important. Rushing to the fence, she looked around, finding the dig spot that Link mentioned, "hup," getting down to her knees, she walked her way underneath with her hands. Chel felt like a dog for having to push her belly down to the floor in older to curve her back low enough to move under the wood. Twisting herself around, she sat up, crab walking the rest of the way in.

Looking through the fence, she could see that the crowd had completely dispersed and someone was headed her way. Crawling as quietly as possible, she shoved herself against a wall that curved out a little, overlapping the fence. Listening to the footsteps approach, she felt the power that reverberated from them – raw and primal. It was deathly quiet, no one daring to move a muscle. She dared to take a peek.

Chel didn't even realize her heart was beating rapidly until her eyes locked onto the golden ones that slowly scanned the area like a predator. Her heart pounded harder every time they looked in her direction but continued to move along. She couldn't see him too well, but her curiosity was beginning to pique. _Who is he? _

"Ganon," jerking herself back behind the wall, she remembered that hiding was important, "we have unfinished business," Chel could practically hear the annoyance in the heave of his sigh, "don't think that you are above us in this war. This isn't the first time you've abandoned us in battle, and it won't be the last. You're disgraceful, take your soldiers and le-"

"Impa," his voice was so deep, it vibrated the ground around her, "I am merely seeking shelter for the women," his speech was laced with poison, "I will be gone by nightfall. You wouldn't deny help to the dying would you?"

The hesitation of the woman's voice caught Chel off guard, _is she really backing down? _The silence continued to fill the air, so it was safe to assume that the two were having a stare-off. Waiting for some sign, she listened intently. The power of the two seemed to create static in the air, threatening to blow up the area.

"Hmph, nightfall...then, you leave," Impa had lost and spat at him, "I have things to talk to you about anyway," the sound of her shoes scuffing against the dirt left her a little sad, _is she alright? _The chuckle that followed suit made Chel feel a little aggravated.

Looking around the corner, she felt her heart leap into her throat as the golden eyes she had just been staring at, were glaring directly at her. _Maybe he doesn't actually see me, _waiting there, she felt the eyes beginning to bore right through her. They were having their own stare-off, at least it seemed that way until the man made one more sweep of the fence and turned to leave, Chel's air returning to her.

Leaning against the rock, she stared down the path that led onward to Death Mountain, the golden orbs still distracting her mind, "...Ganon."

* * *

So, I wanted to go into better detail on what's going on. I hope that you've indicated the mix in Impa's design. She has the physical appearance of the OOT series, but material-wise, SS style. Everything will be explained in much MUCH later chapters.

Igashnatha - Sheikah term for 'a disgrace' (could be considered a curse word) [not a specific language, but I may end up creating one for it in the future]

Anyway, the suspense! They're so close, yet so far. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, please leave a review and if you like the story, favorite it, let me know what you think. Per usual, you can contact me on here or on my Tumblr (profile). I tend to be sort of a perfectionist with my stories, so please forgive the slow updating, I only want the best for my readers.


	8. A Whole New Species

A Whole New Species

* * *

Chel walked quietly along the dirt path, Link in tow. They both were unbearably quiet, but it didn't bother her any. It seemed like they were both in some sort of meditative state, so the silence fed her thoughts even more.

"...Ganon," thinking on the issue, she remembered the name Impa had told her back at the castle, "hmm," the golden eyes still bothered her, they were dark, evil and possessive, "...control freak," was she supposed to meet him at some point? He didn't seem too welcoming of a person, there was no way she was going to warm up to him in any sort of way. Hopefully they'd meet in the distant future or possibly never - whoever he was, she already didn't like him.

"Are you listening," Chel jumped a little at the touch of Link's hand, she had apparently walked right past him.

"Oh sorry, just thinking," shrugging a little, she waited for him to remove his hand, but he continued to stare at her, "...what is it," _are you judging me too?_

He sighed and removed his hand, "nothing," the response was simple, but a little discouraging, "just try to focus now, things'll be a lot more difficult here on out."

"And by that you mean," she let him turn her around, causing her to frown at the presentation of a cliff, metal gating being the only way up, "...I see," Chel could climb with no issues, but she wasn't feeling tip top shape at the moment, "umm, what exactly is up there?"

"You'll see," she barely noticed the claw-like handle that rested on his belt after he took it off, "come here," he had stepped over to the left, on top of a flat rock nearby. Looking around, she noticed they had come to a wide spacious area, mountain everywhere,_ like a rocky clearing._

"Uhh, right okay," adjusting her satchel, she made way as he stuffed his hand inside the thing like a glove, there was clicking and clacking but it didn't seem to bother him in the least "what exactly is that?"

"I'll show you," she waited as he turned and aimed the thing up, "you see that little panel on the side?"

Looking over, Chel was able to get a clear view of a hexagonal plate above the gate on the wall of the mountain – a rusty ball stuck out from the center, "uhh yeah, I see it," it stuck out oddly from the natural state of the mountain, but why he showed her, Chel was unsure, "what about it, some kind of decoration?"

"...Nope," she nearly jumped out of her skin at the loud click and clank of the object he wore, a long metal chain unwinding from the wrist and speeding behind the claw that slammed against the plate, closing around the ball. The chain whipped wildly around, forcing her to step behind to avoid getting hit. He was her only guide to safety and she was hoping not to lose him anytime soon, _right, you can finally depend on your parent...the irony._

"Wha-Oh my god," the man's body was suddenly jerked up off the floor as the chain pulled taut and forced him forward, "wait," Chel flung out to grab him, but Link had already went rocketing toward the wall, "be care-," his feet slammed with a thud against the mountain, planting firmly to keep him balanced, "oh thank goodness," eying the contraption he was hanging from, she was starting to get the gist of what it was, "...a hookshot?"

"Here," she instinctively threw her hands out as he tossed the thing down to her, the item landing with a 'clunk' in her hands – it weighed quite a bit, "now you try."

"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't know about this-"

"Don't worry, I'll be right here and if you mess up, I'll save you," the confidence in his voice made her feel a little offended, _I'm not helpless_.

Taking her hand, she stuffed it inside, finding a handle that she could hook her fingers into, "if you close your fingers the claw should open," she followed his directions, and the claw obeyed, but her thumb had run over a notch in the handle that sent it shooting into the ground, making her shoulder jerk back, "yeah, that's the button that let's it go."

"Alright alright," shaking away the vibrations, she removed her thumb from the button and it retracted, "I got this," aiming it up towards the panel, Chel took a deep breath and steadied her arm, "I can do this," she ran her thumb over the button a few times before pressing down on it, her shoulder jerking back from the force.

Link side-stepped allowing the hook to slam into the ball, but the claw didn't closed, sending the chain tumbling down the wall, "you need to rest your hand after firing."

"Oh yeah," setting the claw back up, she felt her arm fling sideways as the chain locked into place, "ouch," aiming again, she grunted, "this time," sending the claw out, she made sure to rest her hand, allowing the claw to clamp onto the ball, "yes yes I did-Oh Shit," her arm was yanked forward, whipping her head back, "crap," the pain shot down her spine, making her spasm involuntarily – having been too absorbed with her victory, she'd accidentally released the button, "Link!"

"Pull your knees up," his voice was blurting out from the wind, but she did what she was told – hoisting her knees to her stomach, Chel felt the forceful shock that reverberated into her knees as her sandals slapped against the mountain. Her teeth clacked together leaving her a little dazed, and her spine continued to vibrate, leaving a buzzing feeling on the surface of her skin as if she were just electrocuted. Trying to focus, she noticed herself pressed against the wall of the mountain, claw still hooked into the panel and holding her up.

"Oh my-I did it," cheering to herself, she slowly let her feet down, the ground shifting a little beneath her, "Link, look I made it," she heard him laughing, but her heart raced with excitement – she felt all jittery from the rush, "that was amazing," high speeds and fast winds always left her feeling refreshed. Not to mention, she was proving her point of being a quick learner.

"Right," she allowed him to take the object, tapping the stray pebbles out of her sandals, "now we need to be careful, we're close to the volcano."

"Are there lava pits or something,"still somewhat distracted by her little experience, she wiped as much dust off of herself as possible, "pitfalls, wild animals," following close behind him, Chel could hear the faint sound of hissing air but it died down.

"All of that yes, but no," taking her hand, he took up the shield that was on his back, she watched as he adjusted his gloves to where they covered his arms more. _What exactly are we worrying about? _

The pathway they followed was narrow, dry and growing hotter as they proceeded, but Chel couldn't find a single sign of anything dangerous. Examining the walkway, she noticed that the ground and walls were cracked in many areas, _earthquakes probably, _she wanted to move faster, but Link gave no sign that he was going to budge any quicker than the baby step pace that he was going. It left her feeling antsy, _what's out here? Baby lizards, _frowning, she just let him guide her forward.

"Weird," Chel listened to him while watching his ears – they twitched slightly as if he were trying to listen for something, "usually they're around here-"

_Click click click, _Link tightened his grip on her arm, but she couldn't see anything that was out to attack them, "not now, I already have to-"

_Click click scritch- thump!_

"Where's it coming from," Chel could feel the tension in his shoulders, but the sounds echoed off the walls of the mountains, "Link, let's just keep...going," a shadow suddenly slid up over his shoulders, so she turned to see what it was. Something was falling right toward her, "Link," yelling, she yanked her satchel up and swung it at whatever the thing was, "oof," the creature had some weight as it had shoved her back a little when hit, slamming against the wall with a crack.

"Chel," she felt Link's arms around her, steadying her before pulling her behind him, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," looking over his shoulder, she felt her skin crawl as she stared at the organism that twitched and hopped – four twig-like legs stuck out of it with little spikes that protruded, a red shell covering it's upper body a swelling abdomen on the underside that looked much softer and a large red eye that glimmered and glared at them intently, "what is that thing?"

"...Tektite," She felt him push back making her step back herself, "they like to bite," just then, she noticed the fangs that were clicking and folding back into the tektite's face over and over again, "just stay behind me."

"...okay," though she wanted to help, Chel felt the action would mean killing the thing and she hadn't recovered from her bout with the previous attacker – she could still feel the blood splattering across her face, _how much will come out of that thing, _feeling her throat clench involuntarily, she pulled her gaze away, "could we just run for it?"

"Why would we do that," she heard the laugh in Link's voice as he positioned himself, shield tilted upwards – he was definitely not planning on going anywhere until the creature was dealt with. She didn't want to see it's insides though, so she decided to go with moving ahead.

"Okay well, I'mma just go on ahead," moving away from him, she felt the ground beneath her begin to rumble, "what the-"

"Chel," her arm was yanked back forward and she tumbled to her knees as Link brought his shield downward, a giant burst of steam hissing out of the ground with such great force, she could see his shoulders jerk before pushing back down against the spewing hole. His muscles rippled as he grunted, trying to keep the shield steady, "C'mon, stop already!"

_Scritch scritch, _turning back around, Chel forced herself back as the forgotten tektite slammed into the ground where she'd just been, claws digging into the dry earth, "whoa," it's eyes watched her with such bloodlust that it hopped a little with excitement before taking another large jump, "crap," turning, she crawled back again, scarcely avoiding it's fangs that stabbed into the ground.

The beast clicked and hissed at her with irritation, but she wasn't ready to be anything's lunch yet. Looking back, Chel noticed Link's sword back in it's sheath, _I really don't like this. _Hearing the scratch of the tektite's claws and the roar as it left the ground, she threw all hesitation aside and ran for his blade. It's fangs nearly dug into her calf as she reached for the weapon – it slid out with a 'shing,' Link yelling for her to wait as the steam was subsiding.

Twisting around, Chel felt everything slow down as the creature descended towards them. She could practically see it's heart beating through it's abdomen as it's fangs flicked out, ready to strike, _oh god why_, shutting her eyes tight, she thrust the blade up above her – in a single wet 'schlunk' her body was forced backwards, slamming against her partner who had turned just in time to get a grip on the hilt himself as they fell backwards. Her heart pounded as her arms were shaken and jerked, the clicking filling her ears before everything went completely still.

"Did, did it-" something warm and wet plopped down on her face, it dripped even more – across her forehead, down her nose, on her neck, over her collarbone, "hngh," the smell enthralled her nose as Chel knew exactly what was getting on her, but she couldn't help from taking a peek, "oh-hurgh god," the tektite twitched and curled into itself as it continued to slide down the blade, it's innards being pulled through it's back.

"Yeah, you got hi-hey," Chel forced herself up before shoving the blade aside, not wanting to touch the goo that was on her, "are you okay?"

She couldn't stop staring at the creature that continued to twitch until it could no longer last. Trying to calm down, she felt her stomach clenching, _I actually killed it this time. _She thought she could never do such a thing, but it was obvious that that was a lie, _what if it was a human? _She wanted to something on her shoulder, Chel jumped in surprise, but seeing Link's face brought her back to attention, "huh? What? What is it?"

"Chel calm down, you're shaking," he had been watching her with concern, "did it scare you?"

"NO, no I," trying to find the right words, she decided to stay silent – it wouldn't do him any good knowing that slaughter was not something she did on a regular basis, "it's...nothing," she was beginning to feel like she was alone again, _I'm not meant for this. I can't keep doing this...but you need to get home, but I don't want to kill anymore. _

"I was shocked," pulled from her thoughts, Chel noticed the frown on his face as he pulled a small rag from his bag, "...when I killed something for the first time...close your eyes," feeling his hand on her chin, she obeyed as he began wiping away the goo that was spilling down her face, "I was only ten when it happened, it was a multitude of them too," although he was trying to comfort her, she had a feeling that she'd be killing a lot more than just tektites, "it's never easy, I'm not gonna lie about that," wiping away as much of the slime from her collarbone, he looked her square in the face, "but I can't let anyone get hurt anymore. I have to save these people."

Chel could still smell the blood on her, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything, Link seemed to notice because he sighed and stood to grab his sword. Trying to calm herself a bit more, she stood herself and adjusted her satchel, not wanting to watch as he pulled his sword from the carcass, a loud 'schlunk' and splash of liquids reaching her ears. If she was to go any further, to see her parents, she had to keep fighting, _I don't have a choice anyway. _

"Come on," feeling his hand on her shoulder, she followed him, "we don't have much further, but please, stay close," she watched his pleading eyes – he clearly didn't trust her enough to be on her own, but who could blame him.

"Alright, okay," she disliked being so dependent on him, it frustrated her to no end, but there was no point in arguing.

As they continued on, Link had to maneuver them around a multitude of steam pockets that grew larger in size and number. Chel made sure to stay close, not wanting to inconvenience him any more than she possibly could. What was she supposed to do to help? Would she even be able to repay him for his kindness? She really didn't want to owe anyone, especially her father's ancestor – though he was nice, it irked her to think she was technically doing exactly what she didn't want. _You could've been killed, don't think about it like that. _

Frowning to herself, she mentally slapped herself, returning her attention to the task at hand. Remembering herself, she began to wonder why exactly Link was in such a hurry to get up to the mountains. Was it because of the sights, or was it that Ganon character? Either way, she was fairly curious.

"Link, why exactly are you guys s-"

"Look out," her arm was snatched to the side as a giant boulder came crashing down on the spot she was in, "they usually don't throw them around here," Chel had to balance herself as Link dragged her into a little alcove, "...there's something wrong."

"Uhh yeah! I was almost crushed by a boulder," yanking her arm away, she readjusted her satchel, "who exactly is throwing them huh!? I was almost killed!"

"Calm down," he gave her a funny look, but she wasn't at all happy, "they're Gorons, the rock people-"

"No brainer-"

"And I've got a feeling that something's strange going on," Chel watched him stick his head out and pull back just as another boulder came speeding past, "we have to get up there as soon as possible."

"Uhh no, I'm not moving from this spot," crossing her arms, she was determined to live to see another day, "we're going back down the mountain."

"Chel please," he came up to her, hands pleading, "we have to go up there, I need to see what's wrong," turning her head away, she huffed, "...Chel," feeling his hands on her arms, she felt a little weird from his closeness – if he wasn't her father's ancestor, she'd be fine, "I'm begging you."

"...uggh," pulling away from him, Chel sighed exasperatedly, "fine, whatever...if I die it's your fault."

"Don't worry, you won't," She felt his arms around her making her feel even more awkward, "I'll keep you safe," he pulled back, so she moved over to the opening of the alcove, "there should be one coming."

"Yup," looking at the boulder that came tumbling forward, Chel pulled her head a little bit back so it didn't nip her on the nose, "let's go then," stepping out, she let Link run in front of her while taking her hand, _I swear this is getting weird now. _

As they ascended, the mountain grew steeper, making it harder to move. Chel had her hands clasped onto the back of Link's tunic as he furthered their journey – had she better shoes, she would've been fine going, but the sandals had slick bottoms, so she struggled to get hold of the ground. They had made it to a pathway that stuck out of the side of the mountain like a ramp, but the loud rumbling told that it wasn't the safest pathway.

"We've got a problem," as the pathway winded, Chel sighed with defeat as a large wall of boulders clogged the rest of the walkway – they seemed to keep building up from the other side "Link we have to turn back-"

"Not yet we don't," turning to look at him, she noticed a row of strange plants growing from a crevice on the wall of the mountain – they were blue and bulbous with a brown strand growing out the top with white petals that stuck to the whole of the plant, "there's always a way out," he yanked the head of the plant off and Chel could hear a scratch, like the lighting of a match.

"Are those sparks," watching as he walked past her, she frowned, "what kind of plant is that anyway? A blue bell," she could hear it still hissing as Link stuffed the plant in the corner of the wall and the boulders, "could you please explain how this is going to work?"

"You'll see," he took her hand and moved them a ways back, "just be patient," Chel tried to get a good look at what was going on, but they had already rounded the corner, "we'll be up there in no time."

"Well that's wonderful news, but I still don't-AHHH," a loud blast echoed behind her, but all she could see was debris as it flew everywhere in the air, turning the sky brown, "what the hell was that," trying to get a better look, she jerked away and squinted her eyes as the debris blew past them, "did you just," the sound of pebbles rolling caught her ear as she saw little rocks gradually tumble past her feet, "...a plant...that's a bomb."

"You got it," she couldn't help but laugh as Link guided her forward, rocks still trickling down the pathway, "one of the useful things the Gorons provide us."

Chel was becoming a bit anxious, "if the uhh Gorons? Are sending the boulders down," tripping over the rocks, she sighed, "don't you think they want to be left alone?"

"Well no," she was feeling a little confused by what was going on, "it's a defense mechanism that they have...it helps to keep people out," _uhhh 'LEAVE ME ALONE' is all I'm hearing, _"but it's not meant for us...it's meant for other things."

"_Other _things?"

"Yeah, you know, like tektites, lizalfos, dodongo, the like."

"Uhhh...right well, um I honestly think we should head back-"

"Nonsense, they'll love to meet you, Darunia especially," Chel frowned as Link tried to reassure her, but she was more distracted by the wall that had broken into nothingness.

"Whoa," looking out, her breath was nearly taken away as the afternoon sky shined over the mountains – they were high up and she could see a deep canyon off in the distance, "...beautiful," out past the camp down below, she could see a large field that seemed to go on forever, a sea of green, "..."

"Chel?"

"Huh," turning she noticed Link was staring at her, "oh right, gorons, Darunia yeah all that fancy stuff- just look at it though," pointing out to the world beyond, she felt her skin crawl with excitement, "it's amazing right," it didn't matter what world she was in, nature always had the power to bring her joy.

"Haha, yeah it is," giving him a smile, Chel felt a warm breeze blow against her neck, helping her to relax, _maybe I just need to ease up a little, _"c'mon," she followed him up the steep of the mountain, "they're right past here," he pointed at the peak that jutted out from behind rising walls of rock – a large flaming bulge stuck out from the top, the ring of fire appeared a lot more menacing up close.

Wiping away the sweat on her brow, she sighed, "well at least it's not a big – crap - boulder," groaning, she pointed out the ones coming over the walls, "let's move-"

"C'mere," Just then, Link stepped around her, arm wrapping around her waist – he held her tight.

"What are you doing, we have to-"

"Hold on," she could hear the click and clank of the hookshot they'd used earlier, so she wrapped her arms around him as the boulders grew closer, _come on Link, let's NOT die today please. _Watching the boulders, she dug her fingers into his tunic, anxiety filling in the pit of her stomach, _he'll protect you, don't doubt him...don't doubt_, closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath – she was prepared for impact.

"Hmph," feeling Link's arm grasp tighter just under her chest, she felt her legs lose contact with the ground and wind blasting past her face. It was a completely different feeling not being able to see what was going on, but she was too tensed to even think about opening her eyes. _We're not dead right, _squinting an eye, Chel felt her heart stop as something tan and bumpy came rolling over the wall just above them - arms extended and ready to grab at them. It appeared to have rocks growing on it, but it didn't have any less of an intimidating scowl. _Are these the-_

"AHH," she could feel the giant hands of the creature grasp onto her legs, yanking her backwards, "LINK," her grip around him was cut off as her arms were jerked away, "help me!"

"CHEL," looking down, she could see the hands of the creature as he glared directly into her eyes before letting go and curling into a ball, _what the hell, _she watched as it rolled down the mountain. The air around her whipped violently in her ears, but it didn't change anything as she crashed into the ground tumbling against the dry minerals.

"Oh no, oh no oh no," trying to get a grasp or foothold, Chel could see the cliff she'd just been admiring the world from coming closer, "no no no," every part of her body banged against the ground, her limbs burning against the hot dirt. Feeling around, she could feel her fingertips clip at stray rocks, "please, oh god please," the howling of the open air grew closer, but she kept digging. _There's got to be something somewh-_

Her fingers latched into the ground as the rest of her body fell over the cliff, "AHHH Aha," heaving and gasping for air, Chel could see the jagged ground far below her, "Link," trying to reach around, her legs flailed, putting more strain on her hand, _"_where are yo-AHHH," a boulder went flying over her head and out into the pit of a canyon below. Closing her eyes, she tried to stop her body from swinging around so much. Pulling her heels back, she felt around for anything she could get a hold in, but she met nothing but air. She was dangling with no support save her right hand.

"Chel, I'm coming," the sound of Link's voice sent hope through her, but she wasn't safe yet.

"Huh," the sound of rumbling echoed somewhere off to her right, "oh no please no," the familiar hissing noise screeched in her ear, "Link! Please hurry," she could see the steam in the corner of her eye as it grew closer, blasting chipped rock everywhere. Shaking, she hadn't noticed her hands were sweating until she felt her fingers beginning to slip, _Oh I'm so dead, I'm gonna burn and I'm gonna be impaled...no shut up, Link's coming...he's coming. _Pleading for a miracle, she whimpered as her pinky slipped from her grasp. _Please come faster, please...Hylia help me._

"I'm here," _Oh thank god, _feeling a hand on her wrist, Chel wanted to scream with joy, but all of that excitement was cut short when a searing hot pain blasted her through her clothes and into her spine.

"AHHHHHH," her whole body cringed as the steam screeched in her ears as if trying to make her let go. It felt like knives were digging into her flesh, she tried to wiggle out of the way, but she had no room for movement – her fingers slipped from her hold. Her eyes shot open as the ground below her sped towards her, ready to swallow her whole. Her mind was racing and heart pounding, the air whistled in her ears as if laughing at her. _It's over._

"CHEL," a brute force slammed into her back and she hissed at the pain that shot through her spine, "I'm not letting you die," trying to see, she realized Link had jumped off the cliff to get to her – his hold was much more comforting than ever. The air whistled in her ears, all she could see was the ground coming closer, but she wanted to have hope, _I want to trust you. _How could she though? It felt as though she were looking at her father and she'd never been able to put any faith into him – she had no choice but to. Just then, her body was jerked upright, so she had to claw her fingers into Link's tunic behind her. Her neck snapped forward, causing her teeth to crack together.

"You're okay Chel," Link's voice sounded from above, and all she could do was give a relieved sigh before her vision began rocking in and out, "you're safe now...I'll get you out of here," she couldn't focus, but she could feel her weight shift on her stomach.

"**Lin...is-at you**?"

"**Ye-we-ere to se-**..."

"**...pologies...is sh-alr...**."

"**I do-kno-...we nee...mountain**," the voiced faded in and out, but no matter how hard she tried, the pain forced her back into purgatory when she tried to focus.

Chel could feel herself moving around, but she couldn't quite figure out how far she'd gone until her senses began to fix themselves.

"Nnnngh," opening her eyes, she caught a powerful shock to her back as she tried to stretch, "argh!"

"Whoa whoa," Link had been carrying her on his back, so he stumbled forward a little, "are you okay?"

"My back," biting her lip, she forced the screams down as he set her on the ground, "it hurts too much."

"Let me see," feeling his fingertips on her spine, she jerked forward, whimpering, "I'm sorry...let me," Chel felt his fingers carefully pull her top up, "...wha...are..."

For some reason his voice was faltering which made her worry, "Link," she struggled to not move, but the moment his fingers brushed her skin she jerked once again, "Oh my-AHH!"

"I-I'm sorry," his voice returned, "your skins a little red, "but other than that, there's nothing," feeling his body shift around, she waited for him to finish whatever he was doing, "I'll have to pour some water on it, but you need to get to a springs soon," she could hear the squeak and pop of a cork – she braced herself, curling her knees to her chest and biting on her knuckle, "this'll hurt...a lot."

"Just do it," feeling his hand on her shoulder blade, she winced before growling in pain as the water ran down her skin, helping the burn to stop a bit, "mmm that's so...aha owww," biting deep into her skin she could taste metal, but she was too focused on trying not to hurt, "...hmmm,"sweat beaded her forehead as the burn sizzled away. Relaxing herself as the water stopped pouring, she heaved a sigh while trying to regain her composure – she owed him. For everything, "Link."

"Hmm?"

"...Thank you," she could feel him shifting around behind her, "for saving me...you-"

"**What's going on**," jumping, Chel almost screeched as Link quickly yanked her top back down before helping her. The voice that caught her attention came from a pair of very strange creatures that stood much like a human. She ogled them for quite a bit – they stood a great height difference between her, possibly a foot and a half, their bellies pouched with white tattoos and rocks layered their back, "**so you're awake**," the creature's voice was very deep and smooth, as it gazed at her with deep purple eyes, "**is she okay**," it looked to Link who seemed to be in a little daze.

"uhh **yes...she's burned though, so we need to get her to the springs quickly**," he spoke a little hesitantly as he approached the idea of bathing. _What's his problem_, "**is she able to receive treatment from your gurus?"**

** "Of course**_**," **_another one of the creatures stepped up, it being a bit less intimidating and more awkward in it's behavior, "**I truly wish to apologize for what happened...I thought you two were enemies of the people," **noticing his gaze on her, Chel had to slowly process what he meant. _Ohhh, he's the one who almost got me killed...I see, _her skin crawled.

"Ohh **umm no...it's okay, I guess...I mean, we **_**were **_**trespassing," **trying to stay as polite as possible, she gave it a partial smile which seemed to help it relax a bit – she didn't want to get off on bad terms with the thing, _maybe it'll snap me in half before eating me._

"Chel," feeling Links hand on her shoulder, she noticed him give a soft smile before whispering to her, "these are the Gorons," realizing what he meant, Chel did her best to pretend he didn't say anything surprising, _I thought they were supposed to be human, like us, _"**is it alright if we continue, or do you need to rest?"**

** "No...I'll be fine," **giving a reassuring smile, she gave the two gorons a nod before they turned to lead them along. She'd just noticed the area around them – a large alcove that had a stone opening leading into, what seemed to her, a mountain. They were coming up to the dark entrance when the ground around them rumbled, "**not another boulder**," latching onto Link's arm, she hissed while trying to catch up to the gorons.

"**Why has there been so much noise from the mountain lately**," he sounded much more curious than ever, which she didn't find to be quite helpful in the least, "**you've been guarding the front much more closely as well.**"

Neither of the goron's spoke as they entered into the mountain. Chel couldn't see much of anything aside from the outside, even that was quickly fading the farther they walked. Trying to keep herself straight, she couldn't stop the itch and ache that became more potent from the silence save for the scraping of feet. Before she could ask to stop a moment, she noticed light coming from the other side, so she held her tongue. Looking over to Link, she noticed the slight frown that was on his face as if he were thinking hard about something. Quiet mumbles were coming from the gorons, but it didn't seem like he was listening to their conversation, _what is it? _

"Hmm," turning away, Chel silently followed everyone, feeling a bit isolated and out of the loop. _Why exactly am I here Hylia? Could you just give me a better understanding of what I'm supposed to do? _Wondering to herself, she didn't notice that they were at the end of the tunnel until a blinding light shone down on her face, forcing her eyes shut, "ohh."

"**We're here**," one of the gorons spoke as she followed Link's steps until her eyes adjusted. Her voice caught in her throat, "**welcome to goron city**," to her surprise, she was standing at the top of a dome structure near an open ledge that opened up to floors down below. A few gorons were moving about carrying or dragging large metal crates filled with different kinds of stones on the floor just below them – it was completely out of place.

"**What's going on**," distracted by Link's voice, she noticed the large group of gorons that were at the bottom floor bellowing at each other or broken off into separate groups eating rocks and trying to wipe off soot from their bodies.

Looking at the gorons that were leading them along, the slightly larger one turned to Link, "**I  
need to speak with you about a few things...alone**," it eyed Chel a little strangely before returning it's gaze to him, "**...quite urgent.**"

Whether she noticed it herself or not, she could feel her fingers tighten a little on Link's arm – she wasn't ready to separate just after her near death experience. Feeling his hand on hers, she looked to him, "**don't worry, I'll meet up with you afterward. They'll take good care of you**," _yeah, throw me off a cliff again? Not too convinced here. _Trying to calm herself down, she hesitantly removed her hand from him, instantly feeling as though she were going to be struck by lightning and die right there. He was basically her only anchor for safety at the moment.

"...**okay**," watching him turn and leave, Chel felt the tightness of anxiety squeezing her chest, _it's okay, we'll be okay, he trusts them...I should trust them, they didn't mean to almost kill you, well technically they did. _Feeling a gigantic hand on her shoulder, she nearly jumped with excitement, "huh?"

Never even noticing the goron that was beside her, she wanted to step away from it, knowing full well that those eyes were the same ones that glared her down not too long ago, "**I'll take you to the springs, please don't be afraid, we don't have anything against you,**" the remark didn't quite reach her correctly. _We don't have any evidence to warrant your death yet, _was all she was hearing, "**A friend of Link's is a friend of ours,**" spotting the gap between it's teeth, Chel suddenly giggled to herself – it reminded her of Dongo when he laughed. A sudden wave of depression hit her hard in the stomach, _Hylow...Tim...Aldez. _

"**Come**," though she was still fairly worried for her own safety, she followed it at a good distance, "**our elder gurus will heal your burns**," it chuckled a little, "**they are knowledgeable, but different, don't fear though**," it turned, making Chel jump a little as she followed it down a hallway, "**they are gentle**," _I sure hope so._

"**Umm so**," picking at her skirt, she didn't want their walk to go on in awkward silence, "**what exactly do you do around here?**"

"**I defend the mountain**," the pride that came from the statement didn't go unnoticed, "**unlike my brothers, I must protect the route of trade while they collect minerals.**"

"**I see, so you're technically a bouncer?**"

"**What? I bounce,**" the goron seemed a little hurt from her response.

"**No no no, uhhh**," _don't get the lingo girl, _"**a ummm guard uhhh soldier**," _oh no, it's gonna eat me alive. You've done it now Chel, get ready for chow town._

"**I see,**" watching it smile, she wondered if it got the connection, "**yes...I am bouncer,**" sighing with relief, she mentally wiped the sweat from her brow, "**I protect outer city from bandits, monsters or anything that comes by,**" she felt her shoulders go a little rigid from it's statement and noticed the frown on it's face, "**I truly am sorry for the misunderstanding, I'm just glad you're tough for a human**."

"**You're not that great at comforting**," noticing the frown deepen, Chel mentally slapped herself – although it was trying to be kind, she couldn't quite let herself go unguarded, "**I..uhh look**," scratching her cheek, she found herself heading down a flight of steps, "**...thank you...for providing this hospitality. I'm grateful**," she was beginning to grow frustrated with herself.

"**Come**," the goron turned and moved through a naturally smoothed tunnel, the scent of water catching her nose, "**it is down here.**"

Making her way over, she felt the warm moist air rubbing against her skin – it was already doing the trick, "**how far down is it?**"

"**Closer to mountain's core**," adjusting her skirt, Chel found herself slipping more than a few times, "**springs are pure, so we leave the land around it untouched...cleanses us in return**."

"**Wow**," smiling, she ran her fingers along the rigid yet smooth surface of the tunnel walls, "**that sounds very spiritual**," the warmth was growing hotter, making her skin feel sticky and her back less agitated, "**very...nice,**" she found her body growing more and more relaxed although fear still brimmed her stomach, "**do you...gorons, worship a specific god or?**"

"**The golden goddesses of course**," she caught the strange look it gave her as if she were a mutant or something, "**though it seems we've been abandoned for quite some time**," it seemed to Chel that everyone in that world felt a sever in connection to their spiritual beliefs – she couldn't really deny the fact that it was hard to put faith in something that had no concern for state of being. Something of the statement seemed familiar to her.

_Please restore our hope again. _

The voice echoed in her head, but she couldn't pinpoint where exactly she'd heard it. The sound of water and grumbling voices drew her out of her thoughts. They'd made it to the other side of the tunnel, "**Wow**," in the center of the naturally made dome, was a giant spring water pond, "**it's...it's huge!**"

Hearing the laughter of the giant goron beside her, Chel jumped while giving it a frown, "**nothing special to us gorons, though very sacred...the true springs are in the deep of the mountains.**"

"**Deep of the mountains**," she questioned more to herself than to it, which it seemed to ignore her anyway as it trudged over to the end of the pond.

"**This is where you'll bathe,**" it pointed across the fogged room, forcing Chel to move forward and follow the direction of it's pudgy finger – on the opposite side of the pond, were three oddly shaped figures, "**the elder gorons will tend your wound...when you have soaked for five minutes, swim over and make yourself known.**"

"**Make myself known? What are they-**"

"**Blind? Yes**," the goron looked at her matter-of-factly before giving her a smile, "**you've no need to hide, for you will be alone in sight.**"

"**Alone...right**," though it was trying to reassure her, Chel couldn't stop thinking about Link, if he was okay or if he'd left, "**could...could you let umm...Link know**," she didn't want him to worry, but she didn't want him to forget either, he was her only companion at the moment and for some reason, oblivious to her, things weren't setting right in her stomach. Everything felt off and it was beginning to eat away at her well being.

"**I will let him know you're okay**," she hadn't realized it was watching her intently until a soft smile, contrasting from the rough of it's other features, spread across its face, "**please, rest sister**," turning on it's heel, it left her to heal.

Turning back towards the water, Chel couldn't help but smile, "...sister," chuckling, she stared down at the crystal clear water. It bubble quietly beneath the surface through cracks. Steam lay heavily on the surface, moving around like smoke as she playfully swatted at it, "ahaha," looking across the water, her mood was stabled as she watched the three figures that sat motionless – it seemed as though they were staring, but they weren't, just zoning out into space.

"...Hmm," pulling at her sandals, she excited at being able to remove the small pebbles that clung to the bottom of her feet, "oooo," setting them aside, she removed the rest of her clothing, sure to be careful with her back. It ached, along with all of her other injuries, but she was able to manage. Staring down at the water, Chel slowly stepped inside, instantly feeling the healing effects.

Afraid to slide slower than her hips, she whimpered, "please don't kill me," lowering herself, she hissed at the sting of her back, but it vanished the moment it came, surprising her a bit, "wow," the pain was expected, but so little was what shocked her – having been burned hundreds of times while cooking, she knew a burn didn't stop burning in an instant, "weird world," shrugging the matter off, Chel got to scrubbing the dirt from her body.

The mountain was extremely dry, dust had caked on her skin and left her looking beyond ashy. Scrubbing her limbs as best as possible, she ducked her face into the water, the heat stinging her cheeks and eyelids a bit. Running her hands over her face, a sleepiness came over her – her body had relaxed immensely, easing the muscles she didn't know had been tense. _Why don't we have these back home? _Sighing, Chel pulled her face from the water, letting it drip off of her chin. _Aldez...Tim...what are you doing right now? _She missed them, missed home. _I have to keep going. _Looking over to the three elder gorons, she crossed her arm over her chest, carefully making her way over to them.

There was complete silence, save for the steam pockets and the swishing of her hips moving through the water. The gorons sat silently as she approached, making her feel even more uncomfortable. What surprised, was the fact that they were actually floating on the surface of the water. Taking a deep breath, she looked between the three, "**excuse me,**" each of them turned their heads slightly to acknowledge her, "**I'm Chel, a friend of Link's.**"

"**Ahhh**," the one on the right grew a slight smile, at least whatever a smile would be from a drooping face, "**the green brother**," it's arms unraveled from it's lap and scratched it's chin, "**I haven't seen him in a while.**"

The goron beside it moved the pudgy stomach it had, stringy gray hair swaying in it's face, "**not since his last journey**," it slowly floated closer, closing the three foot space she had from them, "**and he's brought a friend,**" if it could see, Chel had the feeling it was eying her suspiciously.

"**Well, I mean**," it's hand had unraveled from it's lap and reached out to her, she felt her throat closing, "**we sort of met today, not anything too spe-"**

"**Now now**," the third and smallest goron of them all had tugged the intrusive one back, "**let's not frighten the sister...she's clearly uncomfortable**," she couldn't help but thank it silently, "**now...what concerns us is why you have disturbed us.**"

"**Oh, right well**," before she fully turned around, she remembered that they were blind and simply moved a bit closer, having them surround her a bit, "**I was burned by a steam pocket on my way up here**," the smallest one took a small grip to her arm and turned her around, "**it probably sprayed me for a few seconds more than necessary...I was hanging off a cliff so-**"

"**A cliff,**" the three elders spoke a little surprised before the third one placed it's hand on her back, "**that must be Darnofta...**"

"**Darnofta?**"

"**The goron who guards the front, he caught you, no**," the goron spoke softly while running it's hand along her back, poking and prodding, "**you can never have enough caution these days.**"

"**Not with the sorcerer's raging soldiers**," the first one spoke while moving a metal bowl or saucer in front of it, there were different colored leaves and seeds in side of it that gave off a bitter scent, "**we need to keep our lands safe and secure...welcoming strangers is a much greater threat than the monsters that prowl here.**"

"Hmm," Chel pondered their words, wondering just how much pain and destruction had been caused by the sorcerer already. The prodding in her back began to ache, but she made no gesture to move, they were blind so it wouldn't have mattered if she did or not.

"**Strange**," the third goron spoke while running it's fingers along her spine, "**I feel no blisters...I sense no imbalance of skin health...but this energy.**"

"**What energy," **the second one spoke while it mixed water into the bowl that the first one held, "**I don't sense anything from her.**"

"**It's tissue deep, it's powerful**," Chel wasn't quite sure what it was talking about until it's fingers grew hesitant, "**this...this cannot be**," she felt the fingers pull away. Turning around, she noticed that the gorons were huddled together, mumbling to each other.

"**Umm, what's wrong**," she sensed that something terrible was going to occur as the three argued quietly among themselves before turning their heads curtly towards her, "**can you not heal me?**"

"**There's nothing wrong with your flesh**," the third one spoke, that time it's voice being much more curt, "**but blood deep...you are the curse**."

"**I don't understand,**" Chel felt her heart racing, she knew she was in trouble, "**cursed? I...how can I be cursed.**"

"**You aren't cursed...you are the SOURCE,**" the second goron spoke now, it seemed it's suspicions were answered, "**...you are the curse of Darunia's dreams.**"

* * *

**IMPORTANT**

So, I know it's been a very long time (little over a month), but I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. I've lost my motivation to write. Not this story in general, but altogether. I've just been stuck and it's been sucky. This chapter had literally sat in my documents folders for a month, I've been frustrated with myself being unable to write. So, I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I'm just hoping that I can get that spark again. I don't want to just upload a chapter and have it be sucky either, so please forgive the EXCESSIVELY slow updating. **I don't know if this will be on temporary Hiatus or not.**

Anyway, onto lighter things, she's starting to actually trust people again, how exciting right? Well, she was technically forced to but whatever right? Hope you guys enjoyed the read and as always, let me know if U Liek! You can contact me through tumblr (profile) and or just message me on here. Doesn't matter either way. Thank you for sticking around this far.


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